A Mystery
by merrow
Summary: Tooru finds something interesting in her locker one morning. Written for the Furuba ML fanfiction contest. Finally finished after 4 years!
1. What was found

Tooru quickly slammed her shoe locker door and spun around. Yuki looked at  
her in surprise. "Honda-san, is everything alright?" Uo-chan and Hana-chan  
stood behind him, looking at Tooru in shock. She was dead white and her eyes  
were round.  
  
"Yes, everything's fine! We'll be late to class!" She began to walk away  
from the lockers.  
  
"Tooru-kun, your shoes." Hanajima pointed to her friend's feet still in her  
outside shoes.  
  
"Ah-ha-ha! Right, shoes, shoes!" She spun back around and stared at her  
locker. She squeezed her eyes and opened her locker.  
  
Arisa looked over the smaller girls shoulder, curious to see what was  
inside. A while back some of the Princess fan club had put tacks in Tooru's  
shoes in revenge for walking with the Prince to and from school. Hanajima  
had said, loudly, in class that if it happened again, Tooru should save the  
tacks so she could use her denpa to track who had put them there. Arisa had  
made sure that the Princess Club had been listening when she described what  
she'd do to when she found out who the culprit was. It hadn't happened  
again. But she wouldn't put it past the girls to have thought of some other  
devious method to torment Tooru. She also knew Tooru would try to keep it a  
secret so as not to be a bother to anyone. Arisa was pretty sure the Prince  
hadn't even been aware of the first incident. Some boys were just too  
oblivious to be believed. If Tooru were being teased again though, she'd do  
something to stop it. Arisa's eyes opened in surprise when she saw what it  
was Tooru was so eager to hide. "A~ah! A letter!" She reached in over the  
blushing girl and pulled it out. She flipped it over looking at it from all  
sides. "A love letter!" She looked at the telltale heart seal on the back.  
  
"Love letter?" Hanajima's antenna extended. She came over to look at the  
letter with Arisa. "What effect will this have?" Her eyes just barely  
flicked to Yuki who was standing shocked at the head of the lockers, his own  
shoes forgotten in his hands.  
  
Tooru blushed and stammered. "I-I'm sure it's a mistake! That I would get a  
l-l-lov-, that I would get a letter! It's just impossible!" She shook her  
head emphatically, "Someone must have mistaken my locker for someone else'  
s!"  
  
Hanajima took the letter in her hands and presented it to Tooru like a  
servant presenting a crown to a queen, "Tooru Honda-san." Her face was  
expressionless, but one could almost say that she was smiling. "That's what  
it says on the front."  
  
"A~ah! Tooru is getting admired! That's so sweet!" Arisa hugged Tooru  
wrapping her arms around her head. "Kyoko-san would be so pleased!"  
  
"Admired?" Tooru looked through Arisa's arms to see Kyou had joined Yuki at  
the end of the row of lockers. Kyou gave Yuki a sideways look of suspicion,  
but the mouse wasn't paying attention. Yuki stared at Tooru, still in Arisa'  
s embrace. He almost looked...distressed. Puzzled Kyou looked back at the  
girls. Kyou felt a weird tension in his coil in his stomach. What was going  
on here?  
  
"Tooru-kun got a love letter." Hanajima explained. She gave a pleasant  
internal sigh, outwardly expressionless. Such wonderful waves, so many  
interesting vibrations, life with Tooru presented so many pleasant  
opportunities. Even more so since the two boys had become involved.  
  
"Love Letter?!" It came out as a shout before he could help himself.  
Embarrassed, he put a hand over his face and looked away.  
  
Arisa draped an arm over Tooru's shoulder, "This is so exciting Tooru's  
first love letter!" She grinned. "I wonder who it's from?"  
  
"Perhaps it is one of these two?" Hanajima turned slowly to look at the  
Souma boys.  
  
"Aah-" Yuki turned bright red, and let his hair fall over his eyes to hide  
his expression. He started to put his hand up in a negative gesture.  
  
"What kind of guy would write a girl a love letter?!" Kyou's question was a  
violent dismissal. He cut through air with a fierce chop. "It's supposed to  
be the other way around!" He felt his ears burning and knew his face had to  
be as red as a tomato.  
  
"If not the Prince or Orange Head," Arisa mused, "then who?"  
  
"A mystery." Hanajima agreed.  
  
"Are you going to read it?" Arisa asked Tooru who stood staring at the  
letter in her hand.  
  
"Ah, y-yes." Tooru broke the seal and aware of everyone's eyes on her  
quickly read the letter. Her face grew pinker and pinker. But by the end,  
Yuki and Kyou were both upset to see a small smile on the edge of her lips.  
  
"Sooo," Arisa drawled and rose an eyebrow.  
  
"It's not signed." Tooru ducked her head, "I'm sorry."  
  
"A~ah," Arisa straightened and stretched. "The mystery deepens, an  
anonymous love letter. You'll have to tell us what it says so we can figure  
out who it is."  
  
"Eh?!" Tooru looked up at her friends and blinked.  
  
"Yes," Hanajima agreed, "That this person is suitable, we must be sure."  
  
"We made a promise." Arisa nodded to Hanajima.  
  
"At Kyoko's grave." Hanajima nodded back at Arisa. "Not here though, it  
should be somewhere private. And where we can get snacks."  
  
"You're right. Well." Arisa considered. "It's Friday, so we can stay over  
tonight. We can do it then."  
  
"Umn..." Tooru started concerned.  
  
"Ja, okay then. We'd better get to class." Arisa smiled and started to walk  
down the hall with Hanajima. "We'll stop by after dinner."  
  
"Thank you for having us." Hanajima said to the boys as they passed.  
  
Tooru closed her eyes and sighed. She was happy to have such good friends  
as Uo-chan and Hana-chan, but they could be very determined. She opened her  
eyes to see Kyou and Yuki still staring at her. For some reason their faces  
seemed odd to her. She felt a strange constriction in her throat. The letter  
she had received was not from them. "Ano..." she started.  
  
"Ah, Honda-san." Yuki interrupted, smiling. "We should get to class. We'll  
be late."  
  
"Y-yes...of course." She nodded and quickly slipped into her school shoes.  
She followed the two boys to class head down. Yuki's smile had not been  
right. She glanced up at Kyou. He refused to look at her, casting a pissed  
off look at the walls. "Mother," she thought, "This letter...I don't know  
what to do about it."  
  
* * * 


	2. What they did with it

Shigure let a river of tears roll down his cheeks. "Aaaah....our little  
flower is going to leave us to become a bride!"  
  
"Ano.." Tooru blushed as she started to clear the dishes. Shigure had  
teased and pouted about Tooru's secret admirer all through dinner. The story  
had come out when Tooru had explained the reason for Uotani and Hanajima  
visiting later that night.  
  
"Stop being an idiot Shigure!" Kyou huffed, carrying his plates to the  
sink. He felt like the back of his neck had been put in a vise it was so  
tight. Every time that idiot dog mentioned the letter Kyou felt himself  
tense a little more. It was pissing him off all this talk.  
  
"Kyou-kun-"  
  
"WHAT?" Kyou immediately regretted his burst. He hadn't meant to yell, it  
just happened. He looked down into Tooru's surprised eyes. "W-what?"  
  
"Do you feel alright?" She looked up at him concerned, hands soapy as she  
washed the dinner dishes. "Kyou-kun didn't eat much dinner. Wasn't it good?"  
  
Kyou was caught up in the look of concern on her face. No one ever looked  
at him that way. "Aha..."  
  
"It was fine." Yuki said placing his dishes in the sink and taking up a  
towel to dry the dishes Tooru had already washed. He smiled at her,  
"Honda-san's cooking is always delicious."  
  
"I just wasn't hungry." Kyou's stomach tumbled around and he suddenly felt  
like the kitchen was too close. Glaring at Yuki he left the kitchen and went  
outside closing the door with a slam. Damn interfering mouse, always sucking  
up to Tooru. He stopped dead in front of the house.  
  
"Yo!" Arisa smiled, looks like they'd walking into something interesting.  
She still wasn't too sure about these two, Orange Head and the Prince. That  
they had helped Tooru when she needed it, for that they had her  
appreciation. But the Prince was too stiff and Orange Head too rough. And  
they were both idiots. But then, weren't all boys?  
  
Hanajima nodded to Kyou as they passed and stepped through the door. The  
unusual waves she felt when ever she entered this house, they seemed to be  
even stronger tonight. Tooru was a precious friend, that she should be in  
such an environment was a good thing of that she was sure. But any situation  
could change, and she would be watching. She smiled as Tooru came forward to  
greet them. Yes, she would be watching closely.  
  
Kyou felt a shiver down his spine as he climbed up the ladder to the roof.  
It was like someone walking over his grave. He sighed and looked up at the  
moon. Why did he feel so pissed off!  
  
* * *  
  
After snacks had been procured and Shigure had been scared off by Saki the  
girls settled in Tooru's room. Arisa lay on the bed, kicking her feet back  
and forth while Tooru had her hair styled by Saki.  
  
"I still say you have to make this room more like a girls. If not a make-up  
table, you should get some cute pillows. Some nice flowers to decorate the  
wall, or a poster."  
  
Tooru smiled at her friend, careful not to turn her head under Hanajima's  
hands. "Oh, no! I couldn't ask for anything else. I'd be punished. Yuki-kun,  
Kyou-kun, and Shigure-san have done so much for me already."  
  
"You could buy something with your part time money. Now that you live with  
the Souma's your expenses should be less." Hana-chan twirled another ringlet  
into Tooru's hair.  
  
Tooru made a dissenting noise, "I have to save, someday I'll have to live  
on my own. I want to start preparing now."  
  
Uo-chan gave her a sideways look, "Ha-hah! Maybe you're new admirer will  
shower you with gifts. Some nice cute dolls or stuffed animals."  
  
"Eh-he-heh." Tooru blushed.  
  
"Ah, yes, the letter." Hanajima released Tooru's hair, now a riot of curls.  
"We should read it now."  
  
Arisa got up and walked to the window. She opened it and enjoyed the cool  
breeze that washed over her. She pushed herself up on the sill. "Yeah, the  
letter. We still have to find out if this person is deserving of our Tooru."  
  
Yuki looked up in surprise at his window. Uotani's words were muffled but  
easily understandable. He walked to the window to close it. He shouldn't be  
listening in.  
  
"Here, hand it to me and I'll read it aloud for us."  
  
Yuki's hand paused on the sill. He shouldn't be listening in. He leaned  
against the wall next to the window sighing. He allowed himself to slide  
down it to sit below the window. He hid his head in his arms. He shouldn't  
be listening in.  
  
A rustle of paper was heard and Kyou shivered. He should let them know he  
was on the roof somehow. If he moved around the roof beams would creak and  
they'd know to close the window. He rolled on his side, closer to the wall  
with the window.  
  
"Ah, his handwriting is neat, who ever he is."  
  
Kyou held his breath and kept himself very still. He squeezed his eyes  
shut, hating himself but unable to make himself reveal his presence.  
  
"'I don't know how to start this letter.' Che! What kind of opening is  
that?" Uotani gave a typically unladylike snort. "'Dear doesn't sound quite  
right, even though you are dear to me.' Smoooth!" crowed Arisa.  
  
"Yes, very clever." Hanajima agreed.  
  
"'I know you don't know who I am. You've never seemed to take any notice of  
me though we've been in the same class for a long time.' Geh, it's a boy in  
our class."  
  
Kyou's eyes narrowed. He ran the faces of male population of his class  
through his mind. His insides twisted at the thought of one of them writing  
this letter.  
  
"'You're always smiling even though I know you've been through a lot.  
Sometimes when I've had a bad day, I'd see you laughing and smiling with  
your friends and some how I find myself smiling in return. You lift my  
spirits just by being you. Honda-san is amazing. Someday I hope that you  
will smile because of me. I hope you are pleased to know that you are  
admired. I'm afraid I'm a little bit of a coward. I can't make myself sign  
this letter. But I wanted to you to know that someone is thinking of you and  
thinks you are special. It takes all my courage to send this letter to you,  
but I hope you don't mind if I write again. Sincerely, An Admirer.'  
'Sincerely'! He should have signed it 'love'!" Arisa folded up the letter  
with regret. It was a good letter; someone obviously saw something of what  
she did in Tooru.  
  
"No, 'sincerely' is perfect." Hanajima disagreed, "'love' would be too  
forward. He doesn't really know Tooru-kun yet."  
  
"Ah, yes, you're right."  
  
Yuki stared at the wall in the dark. Someone from his class had written  
this letter? How could he not have noticed someone watching Honda-san? He  
felt chilled. How could he have been so oblivious? On the roof Kyou clenched  
and unclenched his fist. His mind had gone through much of the same line of  
thought. Had that person *dared* to write 'love'-! He couldn't even finish  
the thought. He didn't stop to think about what he would have done if it had  
ended that way.  
  
"Tooru..." Yuki's eyes opened at Hanajima's soft voice, "...you've not said  
what you think of the letter."  
  
"Eh-heh-heh." Tooru's laugh was nervous. "To be admired...I think is a good  
thing. Mother said that to admire someone is to make your heart more open.  
That when you see qualities to admire in another person that it is your  
heart learning to be a better person. But...I don't think I'm anyone that  
special."  
  
"Mmmn?" Arisa sounded reflective. "I wonder...this person says you've been  
in the same class for a long time. I wonder who he could be."  
  
"Perhaps..." Hanajima sighed, "...that boy from that time in the past?"  
  
"A~ah!" Arisa laughed, "Wouldn't that be something? To have been admired  
since childhood, and him turning out to be her childhood savior."  
  
Tooru gave a little happy sigh, "It couldn't be! Such a thing would be too  
amazing."  
  
Yuki stood and slid the window shut. He shouldn't be listening in.  
  
* * *  
Breakfast the next morning was tense. Uotani and Hanajima had left without  
eating; Uotani had had to go to her part time job at the convenience store.  
She and Hanajima decided to get something to eat on the way. Kyou didn't  
appear at all for breakfast, leaving Tooru, Yuki and Shigure to themselves.  
Yuki was silent, but Shigure couldn't help but continue to tease. This  
opportunity was too good to miss.  
  
"Tooru-kun did your letter ask you out on a date? I'll chaperone if you  
want me to." Shigure smiled and watched Yuki tense. The boy was trying hard  
to look like he was unaffected by all this. If Tooru-kun hadn't been  
absolutely terrible at reading people it would have been laughable. As it  
was, because Tooru-kun was absolutely terrible at reading people it was  
still laughable.  
  
Tooru flushed and looked into her bowl of rice. "No, the letter was just to  
let me know I was admired."  
  
Trying to sound casual, Yuki asked, "Do you know who it could be?" He saw  
his older cousin smirking at him and glared. Catching Tooru's worried look,  
he smiled and ate a bit of his breakfast. In truth his stomach was clenched  
tight and each bite was difficult to swallow.  
  
Tooru shook her head and move the dish of pickled radishes closer to  
Shigure who'd been trying to reach them across the table. "The thought is so  
surprising, that someone might admire me. I don't know who it could be." Her  
face pinked again. "He-he said he was in our class."  
  
"A class-mate rival!" Shigure sing-songed. His eyes narrowed as he looked  
at his cousin staring helplessly down at his breakfast. He couldn't resist  
twisting the knife a little further. "What will Yuki do?"  
  
Yuki looked up and glared at Shigure. Time to change the subject. "Where is  
that baka neko this morning? He's missing breakfast."  
  
"Kyou-kun left early this morning. He said he wanted to visit the dojo for  
some extra training." Tooru explained starting to clear the dishes. She bit  
her lip as she thought about his morning farewell. She'd been sleepily  
entering the kitchen when she looked up at clatter by the fridge. Kyou stood  
drinking milk from the carton, already in his workout clothes. A towel  
draped around his neck showed that he'd been up for some time and had  
already gone through is morning routine. She smiled at him a little taken  
aback by his start of surprise at her entrance.  
  
"Kyou-kun is up early." She moved to the cupboards and started to pull out  
the fixings for breakfast.  
  
"Un, yeah." Kyou looked away from her and put the carton back in the  
fridge. He looked at the closed fridge door for a moment then turned to  
leave. "Don't bother making breakfast for me-" He started but stopped when  
he looked up to see Tooru staring at him in concern.  
  
"Kyou-kun still doesn't feel well?" Tooru stepped forward and raised a hand  
as if to touch his forehead.  
  
Kyou took a quick step back and cursed himself for doing so when Tooru's  
worried look deepened. "That's not it. I'm fine. I'm just going to the dojo  
early and don't want to eat till after."  
  
"Ah, Kyou-kun trains hard." Tooru smiled and clasped her hands together.  
"Kyou-kun is so admirable!"  
  
'Someday I hope that you will smile because of me.'  
  
Kyou's face darkened as the line chased through his mind. "There's nothing  
to admire about it. I train because I still haven't beaten that damn Yuki.  
There is nothing to admire about a failure." She shouldn't be smiling  
because of him. Cursing himself, he quickly left the room careful not to  
look at her.  
  
Tooru sighed and finished washing up the dishes. Everything had been so odd  
these past few days. Yuki and Kyou were both so tense. She looked up as she  
heard the screen door open. Yuki held his trowel in his hand and was about  
to step out. Smiling Tooru walked to the kitchen doorway, towel in hand.  
  
"Visiting the secret base?" she asked brightly. "I'm almost done with the  
dishes if Yuki-kun would like some help."  
  
"Ah, Honda-san." Yuki turned with a smile. "That's not necessary. I'm just  
going to turn the earth so that it's ready for planting. I won't be long."  
He walked out sliding the door behind him. He needed to get away; to be  
alone for a while.  
  
Tooru's smile faltered. Yuki's smile...it had not been a true smile. Yuki  
and Kyou...she sighed. "Mother," she thought, "I don't know how to make  
things right." The letter she received...had not been from them. She went  
back to her dishes. She didn't hear the door slide shut from Shigure's  
office where he'd been peeping, but then she never had been very observant.  
  
* * * 


	3. Happenstance

By the time school came around Monday morning all three of them were eager to return. When he wasn't avoiding the rest of his housemates Kyou couldn't stop himself from snapping at them. It was with no little satisfaction that Yuki had retaliated by throwing him through the screen door. Twice. He'd immediately regretted it when Honda-san had been the one who'd had to repair it. And Shigure's teasing had been incessant. He'd cried crocodile tears saying Tooru was going to leave them all to become a bride and teased her saying he wanted to walk her down the isle. He'd cajoled and prodded Yuki and Kyou constantly, telling them to object during the ceremony or asking what they'd do to stop it from happening. Anytime the mood had begun to ease, and the three had managed to put the mystery of the letter from their minds, Shigure had dragged it right back out again worrying at it like a bone. He'd even asked Tooru if he could write about it in his next romance novel.  
  
Tooru felt frazzled and pulled in different directions. Yuki and Kyou were so odd these past few days. Sometimes she felt as if she didn't know them at all. She was certain they were upset but didn't know how to set them at ease. They acted as if they were mad, as if she had offended them somehow. The only thing it could be was the letter. Perhaps she had handled it badly. Perhaps they were offended that she had let the others read it? Love letters were very personal things. If she had written a letter to someone, she didn't know if she'd want that person to share it with his friends. Kyou and Yuki must think she was a terrible person to do such a thing. But she couldn't undo what she had done. Her thoughts ran in circles. She was so busy thinking about Yuki and Kyou's reaction to the letter, that she thought about the letter itself hardly at all.  
  
Yuki looked up to see the school coming into sight with a sigh of relief. It was here that the three usually separated. That Honda was living with the Souma's was still a secret to most of the school, to preserve that they didn't want people to see them going to and from school all the time. Yuki alternated between not wanting to let Tooru out of his sight and hardly being able to be near her. He wanted to ask her what she thought of the letter. He didn't want to hear her answer. He wanted to tell her that her admirer didn't know what he was talking about, he wanted to show he that he'd seen it all first. But to say such things...he couldn't. He'd been able to bolster his courage in the past, to say things to give her an idea of how he felt. He relished the memory of the soft pink blush that spread across her cheeks when he promised to make summer memories with her. His mind flipped through the picture book in his heart, her pleasure at a gift of yellow ribbons, her surprise at being called cute, how she couldn't believe that she looked like a princess, smiling because he promised her strawberries.  
  
'Someday I hope that you will smile because of me.'  
  
"Well, I'll be heading off here." Yuki smiled down at her. Tooru looked up at him in concern. This Yuki felt so distant. "I have a student meeting after school so I'll be late. Do you have to work today?"  
  
"Yes, I have my part-time job. Dinner just needs to be heated up." Tooru fiddled with her schoolbag. "Um-"  
  
"I'll see you after work then." Yuki interrupted and ran off.  
  
"I'll be going here too." Kyou didn't even look at her as he spoke. "I'll be training after school, so I probably won't see you till tomorrow." He turned off the path to approach the school from another direction.  
  
Tooru was left to trail behind in confusion. Kyou glanced back and immediately regretted it. Tooru was walking into school head down, looking listless. He watched her brighten as Hanajima and Uotani approached her. He knew that he'd made the weekend rough on her. He'd tried to stay out of her way as much as possible but he couldn't help snapping at her more than once. He'd almost been happy that Yuki had tossed him through the screen door; he'd certainly deserved it. It would have been even better if he'd been able to toss Yuki through the door. Just once...  
  
He walked into the entry hall, and his eyes opened wide. There was someone at Tooru's shoe locker. There was someone with his HAND inside Tooru's shoe locker. A guy someone!  
  
"Oy!" He reached out and grabbed the guy's shoulder and pushed him against the lockers. "What do you think you're doing?"   
  
"Kyou-kun?!" A dark haired boy looked up in surprise. Kyou glared down at him. This guy was in their class. He sat in the back of the room. Didn't talk much. Dammit, what was his name?  
  
"Kyou?" The orange haired boy turned his glare to Yuki who had been walking past the rack of lockers. "What are you doing to Fujitsima-san?" The slight boy in Kyou's grip looked terrified. Fujitsima had always been quiet. Kyou might be quick tempered but he'd never attacked anyone outside the family without provocation. He couldn't imagine what a diffident boy like Fujitsima could have done to piss him off so badly. Then he noticed where they were standing.  
  
"Souma-kun, I, uh-" Fujitsima started, still in Kyou's grip.  
  
"Isn't that Honda-san's locker?" Yuki interrupted walking towards them. Fujitsima shivered at the icy look in Souma's eyes. "Fujitsima-san, what-"  
  
"Kyou-kun! Yuki-kun!" Tooru stood at the end of the corridor looking at them in shock. Arisa and Saki stood behind her with wide eyes.  
  
"Honda-san!" Fujitsima managed to wriggle out of Kyou's grip and ran past Yuki. He pressed something into her hand, "Here!" he dashed past them blushing furiously.  
  
Tooru looked down into her hand. She held up the object, looking at it in surprise. It was another letter. It was a perfect match for the first one. "EH!"  
  
"Ara..." Saki murmured. "The truth revealed. Secret Admirer discovered by chance."  
  
* * *  
  
It seemed as if the clock was going backwards. Class each class took an eternity. The few minutes they had between classes seemed to be gone before they realized it. It had been agreed by Hanajima and Uotani that the new letter would not be read until lunch, when they could escape the classroom. Yuki and Kyou had both decided to be present no matter what. Kyou felt his neck knot from the tension of not looking to the back of the room at Fujitsima. He wanted to study him, find out all about him. He'd never noticed him before. But just from this morning he could tell the boy was weak. How dare someone like him send her a letter like that? What right did he have?  
  
Yuki stood at the head of the class and read off some of the announcements from the last council meeting. He was careful to shift his focus to only students who asked him questions or to look at a spot on the floor in the center of the class. He longed lock eyes with Fujitsima and see if he could make heads or tails of him. What was he thinking? How could he think that he could be worthy of Honda-san? He was a nothing, a non-entity. As far as he could remember the boy had never done anything to attract attention. He'd never excelled at sports. He was never in the top marks at school. He didn't seem to have any talents whatsoever. What had he ever done that was special?  
  
Finally the bell for lunch rang. Tooru stood and couldn't help glancing back at Fujitsima. He started visibly and turned red. Tooru gave him a tentative smile; she didn't want his feelings to be hurt. He started to smile back when his eyes caught sight of something behind her. They widened and he turned quickly and left the room. Tooru turned to see Yuki and Kyou glowering in the direction Fujitsima had gone. Uo-chan and Hana-chan stood a little to the side. Both looked a bit fierce as well, Uo-chan had her best Yankee attitude exuding from her and Hana-chan looked dark and dangerous.   
  
"Heh," Arisa snorted as they found a secluded spot for lunch, "Doesn't look like he has too much backbone."  
  
"His waves aren't unpleasant." Hana-chan commented nibbling on a potato chip. "But they aren't very remarkable either."  
  
"Eh-heh-heh." Tooru gave an embarrassed laugh. She didn't know how to deal with this. She didn't even know Fujitsima. She'd never paid much attention to any of the boys in her class before she began to live with the Soumas. She'd been aware of Yuki before, but then he was the prince of the school and everyone knew of him or about him. More recently it seemed as if her life began and ended with the Souma family, she'd gotten used to the mostly male world of the Soumas. Used to interacting with Yuki, Kyou and Shigure, and comfortable with Momiji and Hatsuharu. She didn't know if she'd ever get used to Ayame or Ritsu, and Hatori still intimidated her a bit, but they'd become part of her world as well. It was different though, to think about talking to a male outside of the Souma family. With the Souma's she had a special bond, just by meeting with her and letting her know of them she had been entrusted with their precious secret and trust. But she knew that part of their interest in her was the sheer novelty of being able to talk to someone freely that knew of their curse without fear of reprisal. Their interest could be explained. Fujitsima was an enigma....why could he possibly be interested in her?  
  
Yuki and Kyou sat sullen their carefully prepared box lunches mostly untouched in front of them. They dreaded hearing what the letter said. Kyou felt like his stomach was in knots. Yuki felt ill. Both wished that the girls would just read the letter and get it over with. Neither questioned their feeling that they had a right to know.   
  
Hanajima enjoyed the waves coming from the Souma boys. She'd been honest when she said the waves from Fujitsima were unremarkable. The vibrations she got from these two...they were noteworthy. There was such force behind them, such strength. It worried her sometimes. Tooru was strong, but she was still just a girl. Such forces...might be too much for her despite all her strength. Perhaps it would be better if she were paired with someone...unremarkable.   
  
Arisa couldn't stand it anymore. Hanajima might be content to nibble at her food, but she wanted to know what was in that letter. "Oy, don't you think its time?" Tooru looked up at her obliviously. "The letter! The letter! Don't you think its time you read it?"  
  
"Ah..." The letter was like lead in her pocket. She didn't know if she should read it aloud in front of everyone like this. It didn't seem very fair to Fujitsima. She pulled it out her pocket uncertainly. She looked up to find everyone's eyes on her. But how could she tell them no?  
  
Arisa plucked it out of her fingers, summarily taking the decision out of her hands, "Here, I'll read it."  
  
Arisa glanced at the Soumas. She suspected they'd somehow found out the contents of the first letter. She recognized their need to protect and watch over Tooru. There was just something about the girl that made people want to shelter her from the rest of the world. It was also more than obvious that they cared more for her than they would admit to anyone, not even themselves. She didn't envy Fujitsima...it would be hard to measure up to these two.  
"No opening this time." She commented, "He still must not know how to start it off." She glanced again at the Prince and Orange Head both trying to look unconcerned. Fujitsima wasn't the only one who didn't know how to start things. Sometimes she just wanted to shake them. "Here it goes...'I didn't think I'd be writing again this soon. I spent the weekend thinking about you, and about you reading my letter. I hoped you liked it. More and more, I wanted to know what you thought of it. I wanted to talk to you. All weekend long, I wanted to know what you would say. Sometimes I see you talking to your friends and I get very jealous. I want to know what they are saying that makes you smile like that. I want to be the one saying it. I decided I can't be a coward any longer. Would you please meet me after school today by cherry tree in the back? -Fujitsima Maseo' Short and to the point." Arisa gave a satisfied snort, and handed Tooru the letter.  
  
Tooru looked at it helplessly. "Mother," she thought, "what should I do?" She felt a strange winding flutter in her stomach. Fujitsima deserved some kind of response. No one had ever told her that they admired her before. It was a heady feeling, and he seemed nice.   
  
"Honda-san," Yuki interrupted her thoughts, concerned at the pinkness spreading across her cheeks. "Don't you have your part-time job today?"  
  
"Ah...yes..." Tooru bit her lip. She did have to work after school, and the building was in a different direction then the cherry tree out back. If she did go to meet Fujitsima she'd only have a few minutes.   
  
"Well you'll have to be quick then." Arisa spoke decisively. She didn't miss the accusing glares that the Prince and Orange Head threw at her. They didn't know how to get things started but she did. Fujitsima seemed an ok guy. He'd already shown more initiative then either of these two. And she knew that she could pound him into the ground if he did anything to hurt Tooru. Besides if things didn't work out with Fujitsima, at least it would probably prod one of the others to finally act. "You can't just leave him standing there." Tooru looked like she was wavering. Uo-chan narrowed her eyes; she knew just the button to press. "It would be rude."  
  
Tooru's eyes grew wide in shock. "Yes! You're right!" She'd have to go.  
  
"You can't!" Kyou burst out and immediately wished he could pull the words back in. Tooru turned to look at him in surprise. He flushed bright red and looked away.   
  
"Not alone." Hanajima agreed. She crumpled up her bag of chips. "We still don't know what kind of boy Fujitsima-san is."   
  
Uotani looked speculative. "I have my part time as well after school. The Prince here has council duties." She jerked her thumb at Yuki.  
  
"Ah." Hana-chan turned slowly to Kyou; "I have to pick up Megumi from school today." Her eyes sparked.  
  
Kyou looked up to find all eyes upon him. "F-fine then!" he spat, "I'll go with her!" He turned to glare at Tooru, "I'll be late for practice with Shishou."   
  
"I can go by myself!" Tooru protested. "I don't want to inconvenience Kyou-kun!"  
  
"It's fine!" Kyou wished his face would cool. He looked away from Tooru. "It's not like Shishou will care, its not like we have a set appointment or anything." What was he doing? Why was he agreeing to chaperone Tooru and that guy? "Would it be any worse..." a little voice in his mind whispered, "to not know what went on? To just imagine it?" Kyou flashed a quick look at Yuki. He saw the haunted look on his face. No, it wouldn't be any better. He looked up again at Tooru as the bell for class began to ring. "I'll walk you there, after class."   
  
* * * 


	4. Romantic Meeting

It was disgustingly romantic, Kyou decided as they walked towards the cherry tree behind the school. There were romantic fluffy white clouds in the romantic blue sky just beginning to get dim and streaky with violet and red in the romantic late winter afternoon. Thank god it was too early for the cherry tree to be blooming. He didn't think he would've been able to handle it if there were romantic cherry petals falling in the breeze. As it was he couldn't look at the girl walking by his side at all. He kept his glare focused on the romantic clouds, the romantic streaks of color in the sky, the romantic flowers just beginning to bud along the side of the road. He really wished he could have had a nice satisfying fight with Yuki before they'd set out. He didn't even care if he would have won or lost it, it might have taken the edge off this horrible feeling churning around in his stomach. He felt as if he'd eaten a bucketful of leeks. Or worse, he'd eaten a bucketful of leeks that had worms and other crawling things mixed in with it. He felt the girl come to a stop and looked up to see the cherry tree looming into view. A figure stood below, leaning against it.  
  
Fujitsima straightened seemed to be unable to stop the happy grin that started to spread across his face. Kyou felt his stomach clench. He realized he had balanced his weight on the balls of his feet and that he was tensing his muscles. He was ready to fight. He was aching for it! And even worse, Fujitsima didn't even seem to notice he was in danger. He didn't even *look* at him! The boy was focused completely on Tooru.  
  
"H-Honda-san!" He said happily. "I wasn't sure if you'd come."  
  
"Oy!" Kyou was sure he was twitching, trying to keep his anger in check. One wrong move and he was going to explode. He knew it was unreasonable, he knew he didn't have any right to be this way. "I-I'll be over here, if you need....anything."  
  
Fujitsima started and suddenly seemed to notice Kyou. "Oh, uh...hi Kyou-kun..." His smile faltered and his eyes flicked between Kyou and Tooru uncertainly.   
  
Kyou grunted, turned and walked over to lean against a tree just barely within earshot. He turned his head as if he was watching the street, but couldn't help but watch the couple (his mind shied away from word) as they talked out of the corner in his eye. He was there to make sure the little weasel didn't do anything, wasn't he? He was supposed to be watching he justified to himself.   
  
Tooru couldn't seem to lift her head. She stared at her shoes. Now that she was here she didn't know what to do.  
  
"Honda-san?" She looked up to see Fujitsima looked at her apprehensively. "Thank you for coming..." He trailed off and ducked his head. Suddenly fidgety he jammed his hands in his pockets and poked a loose pebble with his toe. "I...uh....well." He scratched his nose and glanced over at Kyou who quickly turned his head to make it seem as if he wasn't watching them. Fujitsima seemed to deflate before her eyes. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything..." His shoulders bowed and he kept his eyes on his shoes. He looked so dejected that Tooru's heart went out to him. "I'm sorry I bothered you..."  
  
"Oh, no! Fujitsima-san hasn't bothered me at all. I was glad to come!" Tooru realized as she said it that it was true. Knowing that someone thought she was special, it made her feel good. "I was surprised to get your letters."  
  
"You are?" Fujitsima looked up at her in surprise. He glanced at Kyou again and seemed to come to a decision. He straightened his shoulders and leaned forward earnestly. "Look...just tell me straight out. Is Kyou-kun your boyfriend?" He bit his lip and looked like he was waiting to be struck.   
  
Tooru blinked in surprise and her flash flushed a sudden bright red. "K-kyou-kun?" She shook her head emphatically side to side, clutching her bag to her chest, "N-no! Kyou-kun is just a friend! Hana-chan and Uo-chan were worried about me. Since Uo-chan had her part-time job and Yuki-kun had a student meeting and Hana-chan had to look after Megumi, it was decided the Kyou would come along to make sure everything was ok." Aware of how that sounded Tooru began to panic, "A~ah! Not that Fujitsima-san is untrustworthy! We didn't think that at all, its just that we don't know Fujitsima-san. It isn't that we were doubting you! Mother said it's rude to doubt people-"   
  
Fujitsima interrupted her with a laugh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh." He smiled widely at Tooru. "Honda-san just looks so cute when she's worried."  
  
Tooru was surprised at the sincerity and openness in Fujitsima's smile. She couldn't help but respond to a smile like that. Fujitsima, she thought, isn't a person who holds things back. Then his words sunk in. "A~ah, no, no, I'm not cute at all!"   
  
"Are you doubting me again?" He teased lightly. He held up a hand to forestall her inevitable protest, "Sorry, Sorry. I don't mean to tease. I'm just very relived. I thought, after this morning...and then seeing him here...that maybe I misunderstood your relationship with Kyou-kun." He smiled and ducked his head, suddenly nervous again. "I, uh, I know you don't even really know me or anything...but I wanted to tell you..." He looked up at her and took a deep breath, "That I like you, I really, really like you." He straightened his shoulders, took another breath and finished in a rush, "AndIwasthinkingmaybewecouldgooutonadatesometime?"  
  
"Eh?" Tooru couldn't have heard what she thought she heard.  
  
Fujitsima sighed, and smiled again and repeated slowly, "I was thinking maybe we could go out on a date sometime?" He looked down again, his own face glowing. "I, uh....well, next Saturday is Valentine's Day....and I thought maybe...well that we could...um....maybe if you wanted too..." He looked up suddenly worried, "Not that you have to! Don't feel obligated! I mean, I want you to go because you want to, not because you feel sorry for me or anything. Not that you would, but if you did, I wouldn't want you to feel that you had to..." He looked down at the ground and his shoulders slumped. He scratched the back of his head, "Oh, darn it, I'm no good at this kind of thing."  
  
"Fujitsima-san," Tooru said gently. "I-I have to ask permission, but...if I can....I would like to go on a date with Fujitsima-san."   
  
Kyou stared at the ground all the nervous energy from before suddenly draining out of him. He felt as if he was going to melt into a puddle right there. He should have learned from before...that listening in never lead to learning anything good. He didn't understand Shigure's interest in peeping. If this is what it got you, why bother?  
  
"Oy."   
  
Tooru and Fujitsima continued to stare at each other with silly smiles and brightly glowing cheeks.  
  
Kyou cleared his throat loudly, "Oy!" he said mustering what energy he could. "You...You're going to be late for your part time."   
  
"A~ah!" Tooru looked down at her watch. "Is it that late already? Sorry, Fujitsima-san! I have to go!" Tooru ran in panic down the street not even giving him a chance to answer.   
  
Kyou and Fujitsima watched her go. The orange haired boy sighed and turned to go, turning towards Shigure's house rather than the dojo. Suddenly he didn't feel like working out today.   
  
"Um...Kyou-kun..." Kyou looked up in surprise at Fujitsima. He'd forgotten that the other boy was there. "Sorry, sorry. I don't want to bother you..." Fujitsima swallowed nervously. He still remembered Kyou's angry face this morning, and how strong his hand was on his shoulder. "You're really good friends with Honda-san right?"  
  
"Un." The other agreed in surprised.  
  
"I, uh, just wanted you to know, that I really like Honda-san. And I wouldn't hurt her in any way." He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Jeeze, I know this sounds strange. But, uh, I can tell that you and the others watch over her and I just wanted you to know." Seeming to come to a decision Fujitsima held out a hand, "I want to become friends with Honda-san. I hope we can become friends too!" He smiled at Kyou.  
  
Bemused, Kyou shook his hand noting that though his grip was firm it had no real strength behind it. He felt bowled over by the boy's smile. It was so...so...*honest*. "Ah, un."  
  
"Ja! Okay then, see you at school tomorrow Kyou-kun!" Fujitsima waved a careless hand as he ran down the street.   
  
Kyou watched him till he was out of sight. Turning with a sudden vengeance he punched out at the tree. He punched it again and again, reveling in hearing the bark crunch and the branches creak. Splinters of wood dug into his knuckles and he felt blood trickling between his fingers. Finally exhausted he leaned against the tree his forehead resting against the rough bark. Gasping for breath he closed his eyes and ground his forehead against the bark. Why? Why? Why couldn't Fujitsima be someone awful, someone despicable? Why did he have to be so *nice*? Damn him.  
  
* * * 


	5. Opportunities

Yuki walked through the trees towards the house stoically keeping his mind blank. He focused on the topics brought up at the meeting. He'd have to organize another sub-committee to research options for next years school activities. Last year's had gone over budget. He gave serious thought to the essay assigned in his history class. He ran the new equations they learned in math over in his mind trying to commit them to memory.  
  
"Honda-san will need help with those..." He thought and then cursed himself. Can't I go for more than five minutes without thinking about her? Hardly stopping to make the decision he cut off the path and into the trees. He reached his secret base and dropped his bag heavily on the ground. He looked at the turned rows of earth helplessly. Why had he come here? This early in the season there wasn't much to do, it was too early to plant most things. The soil was too cold and a late frost would kill anything that managed to take hold. He reached into his bag and took out his notebook. At least he could plan it out. He drew a quick grid on the paper. First were the easy things, the usual vegetables. Leeks, carrots...perhaps he would try growing some tomatoes this year. He looked up critically at the trees. No better not, tomatoes required more sunlight then they would get here. The strawberries had done well for their first year, maybe he'd add more of those. He smiled as he remembered the cake Tooru had made from the ones he'd harvested last year. He'd presented her the berries as a surprise and she'd taken them with pleasure. He'd assumed that she had eaten them or was planning to eat them when she had offered up the cake the next night after dinner. It was a pretty, white fluffy thing, decorated with four whole strawberries on top and slices of the rest along the edge. She'd divided it up and shared it with everyone. It had been delicious.   
  
Yuki let the pad slip through his fingers and rested his head on his arms. It was hopeless. He wasn't even safe here. Why can't I stop thinking about her? Right now she would be at work, her meeting with Fujitsima long over. What was she thinking about right now? What had that person said to her? That person, Fujitsima... Yuki's eyes narrowed as he stared off into the forest. He stood up quickly unwilling to let his thoughts wander any further. He picked up his pad, slung his bag back over his shoulder and quickly walked out of the clearing. As the house came into view he looked up at the roof in surprise. Kyou was home.  
  
"I'm home." The mouse called as he took of his shoes in the entryway. He barely acknowledged Shigure's greeting and walked up the stairs to his room. What was Kyou doing home so early? Today was one of his days at the dojo. Usually he didn't come home till late in the evening. He laid his bag against the wall and sat at his desk. Kyou had been there...when she and he met. What had he seen? Why was he home? He looked at the papers before him and moved them around a bit.   
  
"Yuki-kun! Kyou-kun!" Shigure caroled. "Dinner-time!" The dog paused for a moment, hearing no answering clatter of footsteps. It seemed as if no one was coming to dinner tonight. This wouldn't do. Something had happened today and he still had no idea what it was. He smiled to himself and folded his arms inside his sleeves. There was no help for it he supposed. "It's too bad...the dinner made with such care by Tooru-kun going to waste." He paused a moment as something creaked above him. He closed his eyes and turned as if he was going back into his study, "What will she think when she comes home? No one cared to eat the dinner she spent her efforts on."  
  
Kyou appeared glaring in the doorway. "Is it heated up yet?"  
  
Shigure put on his best "surprised" mask. "And ruin it? Of course not." He smiled as the red haired youth muttered something unflattering and walked into the kitchen. Shigure was assured by the sound of clattering in the kitchen that dinner would soon appear. He walked to the dining room meeting Yuki at the door. The mouse glared at him. He, at least, knew when his buttons were being pushed. Shigure smiled carelessly at him. It didn't matter if he knew or not, as long as it worked. "Are you going to set the table? I'll help."  
  
"Thanks." Yuki bit out and arranged the mats and plates on the table. Kyou walked in with a crock of stew at set it on the table. Yuki looked in surprise at Kyou's hands. "What happened?" he gestured with his spoon to the bandages around his knuckles.  
  
"It was surprising." Shigure agreed helping himself to a heaping bowl of stew. "Kyou-kun came in and his hands were such a bloody mess." The dog took a spoonful of the stew. It had been surprising and frustrating too. The cat had truly seemed to have gotten Kyou's tongue. He wouldn't say a word about what had happened to cause his hands to be in such a state the whole time Shigure had spent bandaging him up.  
  
"Nothing." Kyou said and stared into his stew. How was he supposed to eat this? Just the thought of eating made him nauseated. "Nothing happened."  
  
"Nothing?" Shigure pouted. "It took me a half hour to fix what nothing did to your hands." He turned to Yuki for support. "It was so messy, and he wouldn't let me call Ha-san to fix it so I had too. There was blood, and he had splinters all stuck in his hands. I had to use tweezers to get them all out. One was this big." Shigure held out his fingers apart miming a huge length of wood.   
  
"It was not." Kyou spat, he started to clench a fist, but the bandages cut into his palm and rubbed against his abraded knuckles. They did hurt. He settled for glaring at the dog instead. Not that the dog seemed to notice.   
  
"Kyou." Kyou turned his head to look at Yuki. The mouse wasn't looking at him however. He stared into his stew bowl as if he was addressing it instead of the other boy. "Kyou....You didn't attack Fujitsima did you?" Yuki wasn't sure what answer he wanted to hear. Fujitsima was just an ordinary boy. He couldn't stand up to someone of Kyou's caliber.   
  
The cat looked startled. "Of course not!" he slammed down his spoon. This time he did clench his fist. Tightly digging his fingernails into his palm, he relished the pain against his knuckles and the numbness that spread through his hand as the bandages cut off the blood to his fingers.   
  
"Fujitsima?" Shigure asked around the spoon in his mouth.  
  
"Nobody." Kyou spat and left the table leaving his bowl untouched.  
  
Shigure turned his eyes back to Yuki. As much as he'd have loved to leave the nosey dog hanging, Yuki didn't have the energy to play tonight. "A boy in our class. He was the one who wrote to Honda-san." He sighed and ate a little of his stew. Tooru would be upset if she came home and it was untouched. "He asked to meet with her today after school."  
  
Yuki looked up in surprise when Shigure didn't immediately start teasing. Shigure met his gaze steadily. "I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise, other people noticing Tooru-kun." The dog nodded and ate a bit more stew. "She's pretty, cheerful and helpful. She is open with her affection. I'm sure she is admired often. I'm envious." The older man sighed. "Now is the time in young peoples lives when such things are common. Being in the Juunishi, we don't get to experience it much but this may be a good opportunity for Tooru-kun."  
  
Yuki pushed his bowl away and went upstairs. Shigure finished his stew and helped himself to another bowl. This could be a good opportunity for him as well.  
  
* * * 


	6. Running away

Kyou was like a ghost in the house for the rest of the week. He rose early and came home late. If he took meals at all it wasn't with the rest of the household. Tooru wouldn't have been sure he was even still living in the house if the cartons of milk she left for him hadn't been drunk. Shigure had given her permission to go on the date with Fujitsima on Saturday. Yuki had been at the table when she'd asked, but she hadn't seen much of him since then as well. He was kept very busy with his council duties. She sighed; he'd been kept late almost every night. It seemed it was also an important time for the garden. When he was home he was almost always out at the secret base working to get it ready for the growing season. The house, she thought as she hung laundry on the balcony, seems very empty. She berated herself for being selfish. Kyou was working hard towards his goal. She should be admiring his dedication. Yuki was working hard for the whole class. She shouldn't begrudge him his time alone.   
  
"It's silly of me to feel lonely," She thought to herself. It wasn't as if she didn't see them everyday in school. Only...even in school they never seemed to have much of an opportunity to talk. Uo-chan had said some cryptic things that she hadn't really understood. "Mother, Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are always on time...why would they worry about being too late?" She didn't even know what they might be too late for. Tooru worried that they might be working themselves too hard. On the few times that she managed to catch them for a moment they seemed listless and distant. They hadn't been eating well either. Hana-chan had shrugged off her concerns, assuring her that their denpa were still strong as ever. Tooru sighed and went to start dinner. She shouldn't be feeling lonely. After all, she had Fujitsima to keep her company. It seemed whenever she was alone at school he turned up.  
  
Tooru's face pinked as she began to peel the vegetables for dinner. He'd been so excited when she told him she had permission for their date.   
  
"R-really? You can go!? That's great!" He'd smiled widely and slammed his books down on his desk. "It'll be great! I can't wait!"  
  
"Ah?" One of the other boys in class looked up from his desk. "Maseo actually asked her?"  
  
"About time! He's only been talking about it for weeks." Commented another rolling his eyes.  
  
"Aw, c'mon guys." Fujitsima had turned a brilliant red, he scratched the bridge of his nose nervously. "Don't tease. Honda-san will think I'm a total nerd."  
  
"You are a total nerd!"  
  
Tooru watched him joke with his friends and had felt a little left out but strangely pleased. Fujitsima had been thinking about it for that long?   
  
"A date?" Arisa stepped up behind Tooru.  
  
"Yes!" Tooru beamed, "This Saturday, Fujitsima-san and I."   
  
"Tooru-kun's first date!" Arisa crowed and hugged her. She glared at Fujitsima over the smaller girls head. "It better be a good date." She let her hair fall forward to cover an eye and looked menacingly through the other. "And remember that Tooru is a good girl, don't take her for granted!"  
  
"Of course!" Fujitsima placed his hands firmly on the desk in front of him and leaned forward. "I'd never take Honda-san for granted!"  
  
"Is that so? That's good." Fujitsima levitated at least a couple of inched into the air. He spun to see Hanajima standing behind him. He looked at her with round eyes. Her hair blew in and invisible breeze and a dark aura surrounded her. "If Tooru-kun was taken for granted...I might have to do...something." She blinked slowly, and surveyed Fujitsima's friends before turning back to focus on him. "Yes...something."  
  
"Honda-san is so lucky!" Fujitsima grinned. "She has such cool friends."   
  
"Maseo's so stupid." One friend said to the other, "He doesn't even realize when he's in danger."  
  
"Mmm-hmmm." The other nodded emphatically. "But that's just his personality. He sees the world through rose-colored glasses."   
  
Dismissing them with a roll of his eyes, Fujitsima leaned towards Tooru. "Can I get your phone number? I'll call you later so we can make plans for Saturday."  
  
"Phone number?" Tooru repeated stupidly. The Soumas had a phone...but if Fujitsima called he'd know that she was living with them.  
  
"Honda-san." Tooru turned with relief to Yuki. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"  
  
"Sure!" Tooru turned to Fujitsima, "Excuse me." She bowed and walked quickly over to Yuki.  
  
"I wanted to ask you about the onigiri booth from last year..." Yuki escorted Tooru out into the hallway. He kept up his best prince mode until they were out Fujitsima's view. As soon as they were alone, he slumped against the wall and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, Honda-san. I know it's an inconvenience, but I don't think it would be a good idea to let Fujitsima-san know that you are living with us."  
  
"I understand." Tooru understood that there could be trouble if it was common knowledge that she was staying with the Soumas. It wasn't just Yuki's fan club that could cause trouble. The school officials might object to a young girl living in a completely male household of people she wasn't even related to. But then...what should she say to Fujitsima?  
  
"We'll ask Shigure when we get home what to do." Somehow it was obvious to both of them that Shigure would be able to think of some devious way out of their predicament.  
  
But in the end it was Arisa and not Shigure who managed Fujitsima. When the two re-entered the classroom they found Fujitsima and Arisa in deep conversation.  
  
"But if her grandfather gave her permission for the date, why would he be upset if I called?"  
  
The ex-gang girl shook her head, "Not upset, confused. Half the time he calls her by her mother's name, Kyoko. If you called up asking for Tooru he might hang up on you."  
  
"Then I should ask for Kyoko then?" Fujitsima asked his brow wrinkling in confusion.  
  
"No, no, whenever you mention Kyoko directly he gets really upset. He really cared for Kyoko-san. It's better not to mention her at all around him."  
  
"Oh, well..." Fujitsima scratched his nose. "Then we'll just have to make plans here in school." He looked up to see Yuki and Tooru returning. "Do you want to eat lunch together today? We can make plans then, Uotani-san explained everything to me."   
  
The rest of the week had progressed along a similar vein. Fujitsima had managed to be around whenever she started to feel lonely. It was nice having Fujitsima around, but Tooru wished that Kyou and Yuki had time to join in too. After that first day, he'd taken lunch with her and her friends. They'd tried playing cards but he was no good at Dai Hin Min. He just couldn't seem to get the bluffing down, but proved to be a surprisingly good rummy player. He was so excited about the date tomorrow. He could talk endlessly about their plans. First they would see an early movie then a walk in the park and maybe some window-shopping. He'd planned out a full day.   
  
Tooru jumped as she heard the lid clang against the pot on the stove. Coming back to herself in a rush, she hurried to turn down the heat. She looked forward to their date tomorrow as well but she felt a little exhausted just thinking about it. Fujitsima had offered to come pick her up at her house, but she'd explained she had errands to do earlier so she would meet him in town. Tooru glanced at the line of cutely wrapped packages on the counter. The others had forbid her to buy chocolates this year. She felt warmed by their concern, but she couldn't let Valentine's day pass without some sort of acknowledgement. The others had all been so kind to her and she'd been such a burden. She hoped they didn't mind too much that she bent the rules and had handmade the chocolates instead. It had been a lot of fun choosing which shapes to make the chocolates into. In that way, she was lucky that hardly anyone was around the house. She'd had to worry a lot less about being found out. She just hoped she'd be able to deliver them all before her date with Fujitsima. She started when she heard the front door open. She quickly swept the packages into a bag and hid them under the counter.  
  
"I'm home." Kyou called out, wishing he were anywhere else but there. But Shishou had insisted he return home early tonight, saying that he'd been working himself too hard. He sighed and took off his shoes. He had just barely started up the steps when a winded Tooru burst into the doorway.  
  
"Welcome home Kyou-kun!" She beamed.  
  
Kyou was struck breathless by the sight of her. She was positively glowing. He became aware that he was just standing there, staring like a fool. His mouth was even gaping open. "Ah. Uh...hi." He turned back to the stairway.  
  
"Kyou-kun is home early today." Kyou turned to face her again. Was it his imagination? Tooru smiled at him frankly, and he dismissed his thought. She was just making conversation. She couldn't really be anxious to talk to him. "Are you hungry? Would you like a snack?" Kyou opened his mouth to refuse, but his stomach had a disagreement with his mind and growled loudly. Tooru laughed and motioned him to sit at the table. "I'll have something ready in a moment. I'm making dinner now so don't eat too much."  
  
A few minutes later a bemused Kyou found himself sitting at the table with a plate of sliced apples and a tall glass of milk in front of him. He hadn't had much appetite lately, but the milk settled his stomach and made the apples seem appetizing. He took an experimental bite. It tasted good. He sighed and listened to the clatter Tooru made in the kitchen as she finished preparing dinner. He felt the muscles in his shoulders relax. He could almost pretend that nothing had changed. He sat back, his eyes drooping shut. He felt Tooru settle on the other side of the table and looked up. She had taken out some mending to finish up while the food cooked. She looked best like that, he thought, her hands busy with the sunlight slanting through the doorway to fall across her a little smile on her face.  
  
Tooru seemed to feel his eyes on her and looked up the smile widening. "Kyou has been working hard lately."  
  
"Mmm." Kyou made a non-committal noise, "No harder then usual." He refused to meet her eyes and looked out the window. He reached for another apple slice. In truth, he'd been working himself very hard. Every morning he'd get up early and run before school, then do an extended version of his work out. The minute class ended he'd run to the dojo. He threw himself into his practices, spending himself in endless kicks and punches against the practice bags and sparring with whoever was available. He would work and fight until he was exhausted and didn't have to worry about thinking any more. Shishou had first taken this without comment, but Kyou could feel his concern.  
  
Kyou had been punching and kicking the bag for about an hour when the man had come up behind him. Aware of his presence but hoping that ignoring him would make him go away, Kyou kept at the bag. He alternated between kicks and punches, with each repetition of the set trying to increase his speed. He'd have to be fast...if he was ever to beat Yuki. That's what he had to focus on now. Beating Yuki. He couldn't think of anything else. He would do it; he would beat him. He had to. He had to beat Yuki. That was his goal; he couldn't afford to think of anything, or anyone, else. He wouldn't think of anyone else. No one, no one but Yuki. He hadn't even realized there were tears in his eyes till he began to have trouble seeing the battered bag before him.  
  
"Kyou." Kyou spun around shoulders tense and defensive, his arms away from his body with fists clenched. "Kyou." Shishou had looked down at the young man with a kind look on his face. "What's wrong?" He reached out as if to put a comforting hand on Kyou's shoulder.  
  
Kyou slapped it away. "Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" He bit out angrily. "I just have to work harder." He spun around and punched at the bag again.  
  
The older man watched him for a moment then stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Kyou."  
  
This time the angry youth came around with an attack. He kicked and punched at the older man, hardly noticing how easily the other managed to avoid his wild blows. He made a final desperate punch forward, which the older man caught in his hand. Kyou blinked stupidly at his fist in the older mans palm. This is usually where Shishou would knock him back on his ass. He looked up at the other's face, his breaths coming in hard gasps.   
  
"Kyou...You're working too hard. Tooru-kun must be worried about you...you're here everyday."  
  
Still leaning against his hand in Shishou's palm, Kyou blew out a long breath and glared out of the corner of his eye. "She's got other things to think about." Shishou made an interested noise. "A boy. In class...he asked her out on a date. Tomorrow." Kyou closed his eyes, dropped his arm and allowed himself to sink to the floor. Shishou folded his legs and sat beside him silently, willing to wait for him to continue. "So..." Kyou kept his eyes focused on the floor, "She's not going to be noticing where I am, what I'm doing." He glared at the other, "Not that I care! Don't get the wrong idea!"  
  
"I won't." Shishou said blandly.   
  
"I'm not thinking about her! I'm thinking about Yuki! About beating Yuki! That's it!"  
  
"Is that so." Shishou replied noncommittally.  
  
"THAT'S SO!" Kyou said with finality. He glared at the older man daring him to argue.  
  
Shishou smiled at him gently and reached out a hand to ruffle his sweaty hair. "Get cleaned up and go home. It's almost dinnertime. Nothing will be gained if you work yourself to injury. Show me your hands."  
  
Reluctantly Kyou held out his hands to his teacher. They weren't a pretty sight. The damage he'd done a few days ago hadn't been given any sort of chance to heal and very minimal looking after. His knuckles were raw and cracked. The edges of the scrapes, cuts and abrasions were puffy and oozing. The fingers were swollen with purplish bruises where they'd been cut into by Shigure's inexpert bandages and Kyou's deliberate abuse. A hard week of punching bags and working out had only made matters worse. Shishou shot a telling glance at Kyou who went red but kept his eyes defiant.   
  
"Let's get this cleaned up first."  
  
Kyou sighed and looked at his freshly bandaged fingers holding the apple slice in his hands. Shishou had barred him from the dojo until his hands were healed. What was he supposed to do now?   
  
"Do they hurt?"  
  
Kyou blinked at Tooru.   
  
"Kyou-kun's hands, do they hurt?" Tooru looked anxiously at him. Kyou felt his heart rush into his throat.  
  
"N-no, they just itch a little. They're fine." He'd blamed his abraded hands on a training accident, saying that he'd gotten too enthusiastic. She hadn't doubted him for a minute. She'd offered to help him care for his hands, but he'd brushed her off. Tooru continued to look at him sorrowfully. She shouldn't be looking at him like that. It made his stomach start to churn all over again. His mouth opened and began speaking before his brain caught up. "But Shishou says I can't come back to the dojo till they're healed."   
  
Unexpectedly Tooru smiled. "It's selfish of me, but I'm glad. It's been quiet in the house without Kyou-kun." She knotted off the thread and snipped the excess, folded the shirt she's been repairing. Getting up she walked into the kitchen to make sure everything was progressing well with dinner.   
  
Kyou looked after her in amazement. As an afterthought he bit into the browning apple in his hand. Taking in a deep breath and then slowly letting it out he let himself flop back flat against the floor. Perhaps it was ok not to think about it, just for a little while. It was ok not to think about anything.  
  
"Is Kyou-kun going to run away tomorrow?" Kyou rolled his eyes too look at Tooru standing in the doorway. She was bent a little and had her head cocked to look at Kyou. "It's Valentines day tomorrow, Kagura-san might come."  
  
"Ah. Un." He hadn't really thought about it.   
  
"Just in case then...here...Kyou-kun's Valentine's gift." Tooru held out a little box wrapped up on paper with lucky cats waving on it.  
  
The boy sat up quickly. "Oy! I thought we told you not to buy gifts!" But that didn't stop his hand from reaching for it.   
  
Tooru kneeled by him and gave herself a little knock on the head. "Forgive me, I was a little disobedient. But I didn't buy it, I made it." She smiled at him, and then looked a little uncertain. "I hope it's ok."   
  
Kyou looked at the package in his hands. Was it ok? She shouldn't be giving him Valentine's Day gifts...The silence stretched between them. Tooru moved a little restlessly and began to look even more hesitant. Kyou looked up at her once more before tentatively tearing through the paper. He looked at the thing in his hands in consternation. Carefully wrapped inside the paper was a Kingyo Senbei, rice cracker shaped like a goldfish.  
  
Tooru misread his look and immediately began apologizing. "I'm sorry, I guess it isn't appropriate. But I remembered that Kyou-kun doesn't like sweet stuff, and I thought maybe that something manlier like this might be more suitable. But...I guess it was stupid of me." Tooru's face fell. To her own surprise she found tears pricking in the back of her eyes. She didn't know what she thought Kyou's reaction to the cracker was going to be. But she remembered him gulping down Kagura's chocolate last year and holding his hand out for hers...He didn't have to do it. But it had meant a lot to her that he did. This year she had wanted to present him with something he would enjoy. She'd failed again. She was so stupid. And she'd thought maybe...that the gift would make this awkward feeling go away. She was so...  
  
"Stupid." Tooru looked up to find Kyou looking at her seriously. "You really are an idiot." But he smiled when he said it and had a gentle look on his face. "Why is a cracker manlier then a chocolate?"   
  
"Isn't it?" Tooru asked starting to smile again.  
  
"Of course not." Kyou closed his eyes and took a big bite out of it. "It is better than sweet stuff though."  
  
"I'm glad Kyou-kun likes it!"  
  
"It's not that much better mind you. Just a little bit better."   
  
"Ok!"  
  
"A teeny tiny bit better, don't get a big head about it."  
  
"Yes!"  
  
Kyou glanced out of the corner of his eye at Tooru and she smiled back at him happily agreeing with him as he criticized and picked apart her gift. The last rays of the sun dipped into the room and turned it hazy and golden as they continued their give and take.  
  
* * * 


	7. Valentine's Day

"Mother!" Tooru thought desperately, "I'm late!"   
  
She ran down the street her shopping bag banging against her legs. She hadn't even had a chance to stop by the Souma main house to drop off the chocolates. It didn't seem to matter that she'd risen early that morning she still hadn't had enough time to do all her errands. She had planned to present both Yuki and Shigure with their Valentine's gifts that morning before she left, but only the latter had been awake before she had to go. The writer had been surprised and pleased with his little dog shaped chocolate. He'd wished her luck on her date. Tooru had thought about leaving Yuki's chocolate with him but held back at the last minute. She did impose on him to deliver Ayame's chocolate since Shigure was planning on meeting with him later. She had barely a moment to wonder where Kyou was that morning when she realized if she didn't leave then she'd miss the bus she needed to catch.   
  
She'd gone first to the store Arisa worked at part time to deliver her chocolate to her. The store had been busy, full of girls buying last minute chocolate and boys buying last minute flowers for their impending Valentine's dates. It had been some time before she'd had a moment to spare Tooru. She'd loved her fish-shaped chocolate, though she berated Tooru for taking the time and expense to make it. After a few minutes of trying to talk between sales on the register and questions from customers, Arisa finally made apologies and wished Tooru a good time on her date. Tooru had then run from there to the train station to go to Hanajima's house. There she had delivered her chocolates to Hana-chan and her little brother Megumi. She'd had fun making their chocolates, a flower and a little four-point star, both decorated with a mix of white and dark chocolate.   
  
Hana-chan had been very pleased with her gift, though she too scolded Tooru for making it. Tooru shrugged off their reprimands, what else could she do to show them how she appreciated them? Her friends and the Soumas were so precious to her and they'd all done so much for her. She had to do something. In exchange Hana-chan offered to do Tooru's hair for her important first date. First she'd braided it then she tried it tied up in bows. She tried curling it, but had decided the curls were too tight and had brushed them out. Hana-chan had gotten so involved with trying out different styles that they'd lost track of time. Tooru almost missed her train back into town.   
  
As Tooru pelted down the street she could feel the loose waves Hana-chan had painstakingly worked into her hair slowly working themselves straight. She hoped something of the hairstyle would manage to last till her meeting with Fujitsima. Hana-chan had worked so hard on it. She worried what she would do with the Souma's chocolates. Hana-chan had assured her that her denpa told her that they would receive them but she didn't see how that was possible. Tooru turned the corner and smacked into something so hard she was flung backwards onto the pavement.  
  
"Ah! Honda-san!" Tooru looked up groggily to see Fujitsima on the ground a few feet away. He scrambled to get up and rushed to her side. Helping her up he babbled apologies, she barely heard him as some internal part of her chattered in amazement that she'd bumped into him and he was still just a boy. She looked up at him in amazement as he put a steadying hand on her hip and held her close as he helped her straighten. She'd known he wasn't a Souma, but she hadn't really realized what that had meant. She glanced down at his hand and back up at him.  
  
Completely misreading her look Fujitsima turned bright red and jumped back. "Ah, sorry Honda-san!" He scratched the back of his head, glanced around then bent to pick up her bag. "I'm sorry, I was afraid I was going to be late." He scooped up the little packages that had fallen out without even looking at them, keeping his focus on her. "And then I thought maybe I'd mistaken which corner we'd said we'd meet on. So I was running back and forth to make sure I didn't miss you. I'm so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going. I guess it was pretty stupid of me." He held out her bag and gave a little half-bow. "I'm really sorry!"  
  
Tooru accepted her bag back and rushed to assure him that it was fine. "No, no! It's really all my fault. I was running late myself and wasn't paying attention to where I was going!" She blushed and looked down at her toes, "I'm sorry for being late!"  
  
"Looks like it was nobody's fault." Fujitsima said genially. The red hadn't completely left his cheeks, "Want to start our date?" Tooru noted that, in fact, his ears were still bright red.   
  
"Yes!" She smiled. He offered her his arm, she took it and their date officially began.  
  
They first went for a walk, window shopping and looking for a good café to have tea in. Tooru wondered if all dates were this strained. Last Valentine's she'd been on a double date with Yuki, Kyou and Kagura. That hadn't seemed strained at all, but then it hadn't been a real date. She knew that'd the only reason that they'd gone is because of Kagura's insistence and Shigure's teasing. But whatever the reason they'd gone, they had had a good time while they were out. Even Kyou, for all his protests, hadn't seemed all that unhappy. She had certainly never felt this tense and nervous. She felt awkward walking arm and arm with Fujitsima.   
  
He wasn't tall, but his legs were longer then hers and she was having trouble matching his pace. He wasn't unaware of her problems, but he didn't seem to be able to find her rhythm either. The silence between them stretched as they walked along the boulevard. Tooru found her attention wandering and began watching the people around her. All along the street were couples enjoying dates, giggling and chatting together. What made them so easy with each other? She searched their faces trying to find some clue.  
  
"Your hair looks pretty."  
  
Tooru looked up at Fujitsima. "Thank you." She looked back down. She should say something else. Anything else. Her hand unconsciously tightened on his arm.   
  
"Um...It's different then usual."   
  
"Hana-chan did my hair." Tooru smiled and nervously went to pluck at her hair. Discovering her shopping bag was still in her hand she lowered it awkwardly, "She tried a lot of different styles."   
  
"Well, it looks nice." Fujitsima scratched at his nose. Tooru wondered if he always did that when he was nervous. "Um...how about here?" Tooru looked up to see a quiet café standing before them. It was dark, shadowy and intimate inside. She felt her stomach flutter. "We can sit over there, in the window." He pointed to a brightly lit table just inside the entrance that looked over the street.  
  
"O-okay." She took a deep breath and they entered into café. She ordered a cup of tea and a piece of cake on his insistence. They fiddled with their table settings. When their tea and cake arrived they pushed them around the table a bit. The silence was taunt between them weighing heavier and heavier in the calm café.   
  
"Honda-san?" Tooru looked up from a deep study of the frosting flower on her cake. Fujitsima seemed pained, his eyes all crinkled up. "Is something wrong?" He played with his teacup. "I mean, I'm really happy to be here with you...but you don't seem very comfortable." He glanced at her and then out the window. "When you're with your friends you always look happy. I-I was kind of hoping that I'd get to see you like that." He looked back at her anxiously. "Not that I'm not happy you're here as you are! I'm just happy Honda-san agreed to come!" he looked back down at his cup. "I just want Honda-san to be comfortable and happy too. Honda-san looks best when she's happy."  
  
"I'm very happy to be here with Fujitsima-san!" Tooru rushed to assure him. "I was very excited about our date! It's only," Tooru found her cheeks beginning to burn, "I've never been on a date before." Besides the date she had with Kyou and Yuki last year. "I don't know how I'm supposed to act or what to say." It had been easy with Yuki and Kyou. She just acted the way she always did. She was comfortable around them.   
  
"Honda-san has a part time job, right?"   
  
Tooru blinked at the out of the blue question, "Yes."  
  
"What do you do there?"  
  
Tooru started to talk about her job and found that once they started talking it got easier and easier to continue. Fujitsima was quick to ask more questions whenever the conversation lagged. Most of the conversation was harmless. Some of it kept her on her toes. When he asked her about her home life Tooru was kept busy thinking of answers that avoided her relationship with the Soumas. To deflect attention she asked about his family. Fujitsima surprised her by becoming suddenly expansive.  
  
"I've got the best family. My mom and dad met in middle school, and dated all through high school and college. They got married once they graduated. My grandparents didn't like my dad at first because his family was pretty poor and they were rich. But Mom didn't care and married him anyway. I think she must've been really brave to do that."  
  
"What do your grandparents think of your father now?" Tooru asked fascinated, she didn't really remember her father. She'd always wondered about him and what he'd been like.  
  
"Oh, they get along real well now. They all laugh about it now. Grandfather said once he saw Dad work so hard to take care of Mom, my sister, and me, that they couldn't help but like him. But, you know, my Grandparents were never really mean to my father." Fujitsima laughed, "Dad said that he didn't see Grandfather's face for the first few years he started dating Mom. Every time he went to the house to pick her up, Grandfather would have his face hidden behind his newspaper. My Dad would say," Fujitsima deepened his voice, "'Hullo, Mr. Tamiya,' and Grandpa would just rattle his paper at him." Fujitsima laughed and Tooru laughed with him trying to picture a family so normal and every day.   
  
Once started on the subject of his family Fujitsima seemed to need very little prodding to continue talking about them. As they left the café he told her all about his younger sister, Himeko. She could be a real pest, but was really cute sometimes too. She was 11 and was always following him around. His mother was nosey but always tried to be there for them. She was very involved in community activities and the PTA. His father was kept busy at work, but always managed to come to all of his and Himeko's school activities. It was an interesting peek into a world she'd never been a part of.   
  
All she remembered of her father was a large shadowy shape. It was filled out some by things her mother had told her but it was still like a half-remembered dream. She and her mother had been happy together, but they weren't what would be called a typical family. She loved her mother, but she tried to imagine what it was like to grow up in a situation like Fujitsima's. She listened as Fujitsima chattered on as they walked to the shopping district. Occasionally asking a question to get him to continue and nodding and smiling in all the right places. It was easier just to let him talk even if she didn't have much to contribute. It made her feel a bit out of place, not having any "family" stories to share in return. She had stories about her mother's past. But they didn't seem appropriate to share next to Fujitsima's stories of Himeko trying to climb up on stage during his grade school play or the first time his father tried to fix the faucet on his own.  
  
"To-ru?!"  
  
Tooru looked up in surprise and unconsciously tugged Fujitsima to a stop. Someone had called her name.  
  
"It is To-ru!" Tooru glanced behind her and saw Momiji and Hatsuharu standing in the doorway of a store she and Fujitsima had just past. Momiji ran towards her; the frills on his coat flapping and letting a small shopping bag swing wildly from his hand. "I told Haru it was you!" Hatsuharu followed slowly behind, his shopping bag casually slung over his shoulder. "We saw you from inside the store. I knew it was you!" Momiji hopped to a stop in front of her grinning proudly.  
  
"Were you shopping?" Tooru asked with a smile. Momiji's extreme happiness was always catching.   
  
"Yes! Haru and I have an art project for school so we went shopping for supplies. Look! I found a pen with a rabbit on it!" Momiji fished in his bag and came up with a pen with a bright yellow rabbit's head eraser on it. At the base of the head was a ruff of downy neon yellow dyed feathers. The body was covered in golden sparkles. "Isn't it cute?"  
  
"Yes, it's very cute!" Tooru agreed. It was the perfect pen for Momiji.   
  
"Um..." Tooru started, even though her arm was still linked with Fujitsima's she had almost completely forgotten he was there. She glanced up to see him trading uneasy looks with a bland Hatsuharu.   
  
"A~ah! I'm sorry!" Tooru's eyes went wide and she hurried to make introductions. "Fujitsima-san, this is Souma Momiji and Souma Hatsuharu." She turned to the two boys, "This is Fujitsima Maseo."  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Hatsuharu said formally and gave a bow. Surprised by his politeness Fujitsima said the same and rapidly bowed back.  
  
"Souma?" Fujitsima's brow crinkled. "Are you related to Souma-kun and Kyou-kun?"  
  
Tooru nodded, "Momiji-kun and Hatsuharu-kun are Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun's cousins. They go to our school too."  
  
"Wow, what a big family!" Fujitsima laughed nervously scratching the back of his head. The tall one with the white and black hair kept staring at him and it was making him jumpy.   
  
"Ah!" Gently disengaging her arm from Fujitsima's, she reached into her shopping bag. "I was running late earlier so I didn't have time to stop by the main house and drop these off." She held out two packages. One was decorated in a black and white cow print; the other had a pattern with little rabbit pounding something in a bowel.  
  
"Thank you." Hatsuharu said accepting his gracefully.   
  
Momiji squealed and tore into his package. Biting off one of the ears on the chocolate rabbit inside he exclaimed, "Delicious!" He hopped around in circles, "To-ru's Valentine's chocolates! Yum!"   
  
Breaking off a leg of the white and dark chocolate cow inside his own, Hatsuharu asked, "Did you make these yourself?"  
  
"Yes! It was fun deciding all the shapes." Tooru smiled, happy to have managed to deliver the chocolates. She never should have doubted Hana-chan. Her denpa was never wrong. She rustled in the bag again, "Kisa-chan's, Hiro-kun's, Hatori-san's, Kagura-chan's, Ritchan-san's." She double-checked to make sure she hadn't forgotten anybody. She snagged one package out of the pile and surreptitiously dropped it into her coat pocket. "Could Hatsuharu-kun and Momiji-kun make sure the others get these?" She asked holding the bag out to Momiji. "If it's not a bother?"  
  
"Its not a bother." Hatsuharu said blankly and popped another leg off the cow and into his mouth.  
  
Momiji peered into the bag. "Wow! To-ru made a lot of chocolate!"   
  
"I got a little carried away, it was so much fun." Tooru said with a dismissive smile and wave.  
  
"Are you shopping?" Hatsuharu said after the last leg of his cow disappeared.  
  
"Ah, n-no, that is-" Tooru stepped back next to Fujitsima, fumbling and blushing, suddenly reminded of what she was doing. She was on a-  
  
"Honda-san and I are on a date." Fujitsima said proudly. His chest puffed out and he reclaimed her hand, placing it in the crook of his arm.  
  
"A date!" Momiji said in amazement, and Hatsuharu made an interested noise. "What about-" Momiji broke off what he was going to say. "What are you going to do?"   
  
"Well, we were going to walk up to the theaters up the street and catch a movie next." Fujitsima looked down at Tooru, "I thought maybe we could see the new Mogeta movie. I mean, if you want to. If you like that sort of thing, that is...some people might think it's a little childish, but I like it. But if you don't want to..."  
  
"I love Mogeta!" Tooru assured him.  
  
"Me too!" Fujitsima grinned.  
  
"The new Mogeta movie?" Momiji asked enviously.   
  
Fujitsima let go of Tooru and placed his hands on his knees. Bending over a little and speaking like someone would to a small child he said, "Does Momiji like Mogeta too? Are you going to see his new movie?"  
  
"We'd love to go!" Momiji said enthusiastically. "Wouldn't we Haru?" Fujitsima straightened in surprise. That hadn't been what he meant-  
  
"Umn." Hatsuharu agreed, his mouth full of chocolate. He mildly returned Fujitsima's surprised look.  
  
"Yay!" Momiji jumped in place a few times then ran forward to grab Tooru's hands. "We get to see the new Mogeta movie!" He jumped up and down with Tooru's hands in his and beamed up at her.   
  
Fujitsima watched Tooru beam back at Momiji and sighed. "We'd better get going then." He reclaimed Tooru's arm, but Momiji kept hold of her other hand and swung it back and forth as they walked up to the theater. Hatsuharu trailed a little behind them his bemused look feeling like it was boring into the back of Fujitsima's skull.  
  
It was a little awkward at the theater when Fujitsima lagged a little bit to see if Momiji or Hatsuharu would step up to buy their own tickets. When they didn't, he stepped forward and asked for four tickets. He tried not to blanch at the total. Good thing he'd been saving for this date. The filed into the theater and Fujitsima was relieved to see Hatsuharu was the first to sit down further in the row. He'd neither have to sit by the tall, quiet boy nor have to worry about him sitting behind him. Momiji sat between Hatsuharu and Tooru and Fujitsima sat on the isle.   
  
"Honda-san, would you like something to drink? Or some popcorn?" Fujitsima offered softly.   
  
"A~ah! No, thank you. Fujitsima-san already bought me tea, cake and a movie ticket! That's plenty. I'm fine!" Tooru felt bad enough for accepting all his generosity.   
  
"Are you sure? It's ok, really, I don't mind." Fujitsima hastened to reassure her.  
  
"I'd like popcorn! And sweets! And a soda!" Momiji leaned over ticking off things on his fingers.  
  
"Oh," Fujitsima blinked, it would be rude to offer to one and not to everyone he guessed. "Ok. Um...Hatsuharu-san....would you like anything?" He asked as an afterthought as he stood to walk to the concession stand.  
  
Hatsuharu shook his head, "I'll share his."  
  
"No fair!" Momiji protested, but gave in easily. Momiji watched Fujitsima walk to the back of the theater. Once the boy had disappeared past the doors he turned to Tooru. "I was very surprised to see To-ru on a date!"  
  
Tooru blushed and looked down at her hands in her lap. "When Fujitsima-san asked me last week I was very surprised too!"  
  
"Where are Kyou and Yuki today?" Momiji asked watching her face closely.  
  
"Yuki hadn't woken up yet when I left this morning." Hatsuharu turned to consider her as she spoke. "I didn't get to talk to him much this week so I don't know what his plans were. He's been very busy with his council duties." A note of worry and concern drifted under her words, "I didn't even get to give him his chocolate yet."  
  
"You gave Kyou his chocolate already?" Momiji asked readjusting himself in his seat for the millionth time, but keeping his eyes on Tooru in the dim theater.  
  
Tooru smiled as she remembered, "I gave him his gift last night, just in case he had to run away because of Kagura-san." She sighed a little, "He must have run away this morning just in case, I didn't see him before I left." The door at the back of the theater opened and Tooru got up to help Fujitsima carry the soda and popcorn. Momiji looked after her speculatively.   
  
"Kyou must've been burning." He whispered. His little boy face and voice had an unusually serious cast to it.  
  
* * *  
  
The movie flew by for Tooru who was utterly enthralled in the latest Mogeta adventure. She hadn't noticed Fujitsima's attempt to hold her hand during the movie, nor his disappointed look when he realized that her other hand and shoulder had already been claimed by Momiji. The rabbit had noticed and cast an innocent look at the other boy before re-laying his golden head against her shoulder. They left the theater after the movie and stood awkwardly outside.  
  
"Umn...Honda-san," Fujitsima's face was scarlet as interrupted Momiji and Tooru's excited conversation about the plot twists in the movie. He pulled her slightly away from the other two and took her hands in his. Keeping his eyes locked on their joined hands he struggled to speak, "Honda-san, I know we planned to go to dinner, but..." He shuffled his feet a little, and his face graduated to another impossible shade of red, "But...I wasn't expecting the others...and don't have enough money now...and I'm really, really sorry..."  
  
Tooru blinked and began to go red herself. She had been so relieved that the Soumas had shown up. She'd been glad she could give them their chocolates, and having them around made her feel more comfortable and confident. She'd been feeling lost in Fujitsima's family stories. Tooru knew who she was around the Soumas. It hadn't occurred to her what an inconvenience it must have been for Fujitsima to have them along. And this was supposed to be their special date, people didn't usually have others along on a date. Why hadn't she realized?  
  
"Ah," Tooru dropped Fujitsima's hands and fumbled for her small purse in her pocket. "I-I have some money, we can split-"  
  
Fujitsima shook his head, "I can't let you do that!" He covered her hands with his to still them. He paused for a second, his head down and hair covering his eyes. "I'm really sorry." He lifted his head and gave Tooru a wide, if strained smile. "We'll just have to go out again. Another time."  
  
Another date? "Ok!" Tooru smiled and tried to ignore the fluttering reborn in her stomach.   
  
"I, uh, I guess I should take you home now."  
  
"Home?" She repeated dumbly.  
  
"I'll walk you." Fujitsima still held her hands. Luckily for her he was examining her fingernails instead of her face so he missed the panicked look that crossed it. His ears had gone red again.  
  
"Is your date over?" Momiji was suddenly standing next to them again. He hadn't missed Tooru's look.   
  
Fujitsima tried not to cast an annoyed look at the younger boy, "Um, yeah. Almost." He pulled himself up straight and placed Tooru's arm in his again. "I was just going to walk her home."  
  
"Walk? From here?" Momiji looked between the two. "That would be a little far." He smacked his palm into his fist as if coming to a sudden realization. "I know, Hari can drive us all home. He's supposed to pick us up soon and To-ru's home is on our way. Isn't it Haru?" The small boy looked up at the taller boy for confirmation.  
  
"Un."   
  
Fujitsima looked up at Hatsuharu and swallowed. There was no reason he should allow him to intimidate him. The taller boy was younger than he was, and friends with Tooru. He couldn't be as tough as he looked. If only he didn't have that blank look on his face all the time. "I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience." The truth was he didn't have any idea where Tooru lived. He didn't want to make her walk if it was really far. But he'd been hoping that they'd be able to leave the two others behind and he'd get a little more time with Tooru alone.  
  
"We should go back to the shopping district. Hatori is meeting us there." Hatsuharu had somehow ended up not only carrying his own shopping bag, but Momiji's little one and the bag of chocolates as well. He didn't have a hand free to gesture.  
  
"This way!" Momiji ran ahead a little and gestured over his shoulder paying little attention to the crowd around him.   
  
"Watch in front of you!" Tooru warned, unconsciously squeezing Fujitsima's arm in worry.  
  
The way Tooru's eyes flicked restlessly to follow Momiji and back to make sure that Hatsuharu was still there clicked into place in Fujitsima's mind. "Honda-san would make a good big sister."  
  
"Eh?" Tooru turned her head back from making sure Hatsuharu hadn't gotten lost and blinked up at Fujitsima. Big sister?  
  
"Momiji-kun and Hatsuharu-kun, they're like brothers. I can tell because of the way Honda-san worries about them. I feel the same way when Himeko starts running off when we're out together."  
  
"To-ru!" Momiji waved madly by the side of the street, "Hari is already here!" He pointed down the street at an elegant town car. Hatori leaned against it with his suit jacket slung over one arm smoking the tail end of a cigarette. He looked up at Momiji's call.  
  
Fujitsima swallowed nervously again. The man before him was tall and imposing. He watched the one visible eye peeking out from the long bangs widen and his impassive look deepen at the sight of him. Somehow he'd thought the "Hari" Momiji had spoken of would be younger...maybe an older brother or something. Or, since he knew the Soumas had money, perhaps a balding chauffeur. He was not expecting a handsome, expressionless man. He was suddenly conscious of how close he was holding Tooru's arm. He got the distinct impression that "Hari" did not approve. The man straightened and tossed out his now finished cigarette butt into a convenient trashcan.   
  
Momiji ran over to the older man barely noticing the annoyed look he sent him. Tooru guided a decidedly white-faced Fujitsima over to Hatori. Hatsuharu wandered up behind them.  
"Hari, To-ru is on a date!" Momiji jumped from foot to foot, finally spouting out the news.   
Hatori's eye just widened a little farther.  
  
Tooru found herself blushing and supremely conscious of her arm linked in Fujitsima's. "Souma Hatori," She managed to say just barely without stammering, "This is Fujitsima Maseo."   
  
"Fujitsima-san is a classmate of Tooru's." Hatsuharu explained pokerfaced. It was all that needed to be said to explain what could and couldn't be said in front of Fujitsima-san.  
  
Momiji smiled at Fujitsima, "Hari is our cousin, just like Yuki and Kyou!"   
  
"It's, uh, nice to meet you." Fujitsima said hesitantly, wondering if Tooru could see the sweat beading his brow.  
  
"Um." Hatori said noncommittally. Keeping his eye on the pair he shrugged into his jacket. He couldn't believe that Shigure had agreed to this, or that Kyou and Yuki had gone along with it.  
  
"Hatori-san is a doctor." Tooru babbled trying to ease the sudden tense atmosphere, "He takes care of the whole Souma family." Spying her shopping bag in Hatsuharu's hand she dropped Fujitsima's arm gratefully and clapped her hands together, "Ah! I didn't think I'd get to see Hatori-san today." Taking the bag from the cow she reached in and plucked out a package. "For Hatori-san!"  
  
Fujitsima watched as the older man's look somehow softened without becoming any less inscrutable. Hatori casually accepted the little package wrapped in an incongruous seashell and seahorse design. Tucking it into his jacket pocket with a cough, he turned to frown at the girl, "Thank you Tooru-kun, but I thought you were told not to spend your money on chocolates this year."  
  
Tooru bowed low; showing the top of her head to him. "I'm sorry I was disobedient. But I had to thank Hatori-san for taking care of me this year." Seeing Fujitsima's confused look she hastened to explain, "Hatori-san helped me when I was ill, and when I hurt my hand he came over especially to look at it."  
  
"Oh." Was all he could think to reply. Did girls usually give their doctors Valentine's Day chocolate? He didn't have many girl friends but he didn't think so. But then, most doctors these days didn't make house calls either.   
  
"Fujitsima was going to walk To-ru home," Momiji started meaningfully, "But since it's so far away I said that you wouldn't mind driving them home. Since To-ru's house is on our way."  
  
"Ah." Hatori's face had become guarded and closed again. "Of course."  
  
"It's getting late." Hatsuharu commented looking up at the sky. It had become dusk without them noticing.  
  
"Let's get going then." Hatori walked around the side of the car and got behind the wheel. Hatsuharu reclaimed the shopping bag from Tooru and sat in the front seat. Momiji opened the back door and scrambled in, gesturing for Tooru and Fujitsima to follow. Tooru ended up sitting between Momiji and Fujitsima and feeling very self-conscious. She hoped the ride would be smooth and that she wouldn't cause Momiji to transform in the tight confines of the car.  
  
"Where do you live?" Hatori looked in the rearview window at Fujitsima. The Souma doctor couldn't imagine how this pallid boy had gotten anywhere near Tooru.  
  
Gulping at the glaring eye in the mirror Fujitsima managed to stammer out directions to his house. As they drove off the boy realized in dismay that he was going to be dropped off first. He wasn't going to be able to say goodbye to Honda-san on her doorstep. This date had gone very different then what he had planned. Momiji chattered at Hatori about the movie they'd seen, about his art supplies for class (waving his golden rabbit head pen dangerously at Hatori as he drove), about anything at all to fill the empty air of the car.  
  
"That one there, that's my house." Fujitsima pointed out a house on street of identical houses. Hatori pulled up and Fujitsima popped the door open and stepped out. Tooru stepped out behind him to say goodbye and thank him for the date.  
  
Slipping her hand into her pocket she started to open her mouth to speak.  
  
"Honda-san, I want to apologize." Fujitsima interrupted without realizing. "Our date didn't go at all as I planned. I wanted it to be really special." He kicked with his toe against a pebble on the ground and kept his face turned away. "But first I was late and knocked you down, then I didn't know how to put you at ease, then I ran out of money." He said miserably. "I know that you probably don't want to go out with me again, but I do still owe you dinner. I-I'd like to make it up to you. I'm sorry your Valentine's was so awful."  
  
Tooru's heart swelled, Fujitsima looked so pitiful. She felt very guilty for feeling relieved that their date was almost over. "Oh no! My Valentine's wasn't awful at all!" she assured him. "I got to go on a fun date, and had cake and got to see a movie. I had lots of fun with Fujitsima-san! Mother would be so upset if I didn't thank you for everything." She pulled out the small package in her pocket and handed it to Fujitsima. "For everything, thank you very much and Happy Valentines Day."  
  
Fujitsima looked down at the little package in his hands, it was decorated in generic paper with a geometric pattern of overlapping squares. He glanced at Tooru and she nodded at him to indicate it was alright to open it. Inside was a standard, if somewhat large, chocolate kiss decorated with daubs of white chocolate. "Valentine's chocolate? For me?" Fujitsima felt a little breathless, he'd never gotten chocolate from a girl he really liked before.  
  
"Yes, I made it myself." Tooru beamed. Fujitsima, she decided, was fun to give gifts. He looked so wonderfully surprised.  
  
"Yourself?" Hand-made chocolate? Surely that meant something special, that she had specially made chocolate just for him. Fujitsima felt giddy. He decided he was going to keep the chocolate forever.   
  
"I guess I should be going." Tooru started to turn back towards the car. Fujitsima surprised her by grabbing her hand.   
  
"Ah! Wait!" he tugged her a little bit further from the car. He took her hands in his. "I want to thank you for the chocolate. I like it very much." He looked down at her eyes and Tooru found herself suddenly caught in the unexpected swirl of emotion she saw in his. He couldn't possibly feel so emotional over her, could he?  
  
Her lips parted in surprise and a small part of her noticed that his head was dipping down and towards her. "I'm going to be kissed," She thought and her stomach fluttered like mad. She didn't think it was meant to be an unpleasant experience, being kissed. She felt decidedly uncomfortable though as she watched his lips descend towards hers. "I'm going to be kissed by Fujitsima. My first kiss." She felt a confused flurry of thoughts, a swirl of purple eyes, red hair, yellow ribbons, and leek soup. *Fujitsima* was going to be her first kiss?!  
  
"To-ru~!" Momiji caroled hanging out the window. "Are you almost ready? I'm hungry!"  
Tooru swung her face towards the sound of her name automatically. Too late to stop his movement; Fujitsima found himself kissing the center of Tooru's ear. Already blushing, he went scarlet. Backing up in embarrassment he stammered, "I-I'll see you at school on Monday!" And dashed into the house.   
  
The girl watched him go embarrassed for him, then turned back to the car. She felt guilty for feeling so relieved. Fujitsima is a very nice boy, she thought to herself. I should be happy that someone like him wants to kiss me. Momiji snuggled up to her in the car and managed to invite himself, Hatori and Hatsuharu over for dinner. Thankful to have something else to think about, she delved into thoughts of what she could cook for such a sudden unexpected large group.  
  
* * * 


	8. Napping

Yuki opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. He sighed as he realized that he was awake again. He blinked at the roof above him and wondered what time it was. It was dim in the room. Was it early? No, he'd woken earlier too and it had been brighter. It must be getting late. He closed his eyes again. Perhaps he could fall back to sleep. It wasn't as if his eyelids didn't already feel like lead. It'd be easy just to drift back to sleep.   
  
It'd be easier if he just stayed asleep. When he was asleep he didn't have to think about anything, or anyone. It was all just a comfortable blank. He didn't have to feel disgusted with himself. He didn't have to feel ashamed of the way he was behaving.  
  
Shigure had cajoled him out of bed late in the afternoon. He'd wandered downstairs and sat at the table under the heated cover. Tooru had already left for her date. Kyou was nowhere to be found. Shigure chattered at him about something, but Yuki had just sat at the table trying not to think. At some point, he'd fallen asleep there at the table. The dog had shaken him awake, crying that he wasn't listening, but Yuki had just knocked his hand off and left the table. He didn't even bother to respond to teasing comments from the writer. He just didn't have the energy. Besides, it was easier just to keep silent. Shigure could try, but he couldn't really continue a conversation when he was the only participant.  
  
He'd gone upstairs to escape Shigure and found himself standing in his room wondering what to do. He had been staying late at school taking any excuse not to be around the house and around Tooru. All of his schoolwork had long since been done to perfection. All his responsibilities to the council had been diligently pursued and accomplished. Yuki took out a book and laid it open on his desk. He could study. You could never study too much. But he had just ended up staring at the pages blankly. When he woke up several hours later, head cradled in the pages of his book, he finally gave up and went back to bed.   
  
Now he was awake again. And he couldn't stop thinking. By now Tooru and Fujitsima had been on their date for several hours. Was she having fun? Was she smiling just for him? Yuki turned on his side and punched a fist into the pillow. Determinedly he shut his eyes again. Sleep. Sleep. That's all he wanted to do. Sighing he kept his eyes closed and tried to relax. He began to count, trying to banish all thoughts from his mind. One, two, three, four, five...In no time he'd drifted back to sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Shigure looked up from his newspaper in surprise as Tooru trooped in followed by the hyper ball of energy that was Momiji.  
  
"Shi-chan!" the rabbit beamed, "We've come for dinner!" He pumped his hands in the air in triumph.  
  
"Momichi!" Shigure blinked, taking off his glasses, "What do you mean 'we'?"  
  
"Hatori-san and Hatsuharu-san are parking the car." Tooru smiled as she unwound her scarf. "Has Shigure-san eaten? I think I'm going to try to make noodles for dinner."  
  
Not answering her question, or paying any mind to Momiji's ruffling through the paper for the funnies, he asked, "Tooru-kun? Aren't you home early? I thought your plans where for dinner?"  
  
Tooru blushed and looked down at her feet. "Ah...well...Fujitsima-san and I decided to reschedule dinner for another time..."   
  
Practically sprawled across Shigure's lap as he rifled through the paper Momiji crowed, "He ran out of money!"  
  
"Eh?" Shigure looked down at the boy in his lap as he drew back with the funnies in his hand. "What were you doing there?"  
  
"Haru and I were shopping and ran into them. Fujitsima took us to see Mogeta!" Momiji looked very proud of himself.   
  
"Mmmm....?" Shigure said interestedly. "All of you?" This certainly was interesting. He looked up as Hatori walked in followed by Hatsuharu. "Hello, Ha-san." He'd have to get all the details.  
  
Tooru smiled as she went into the kitchen to make tea, "It was a good movie."  
  
Hatori settled down next to Shigure and pulled out a cigarette. The dog handed the man an ashtray without asking and turned back to Momiji. "So you met them in town?"  
  
"Mm!" Momiji nodded, "We were very surprised when we saw To-ru walk past! Then we found out she was on a date!" The rabbit's eyes were huge with remembered surprise.  
  
"So you met Fujitsima? What was he like?" the dog took one of Hatori's cigarettes, lit it, and took a puff.   
  
Hatori pulled his cigarette away from his mouth in surprise. "You haven't met him?"  
  
Shigure laughed, "What? Was I supposed to interview him like a worried papa before I let Tooru go on a date?" Hatori didn't answer but his disapproval was obvious.   
  
"He was very pale." He said bringing the cigarette back to his lips.  
  
"He wasn't always." Hatsuharu fiddled with one of the buckles on his wrist. "He went red whenever he looked at Tooru-kun."  
  
"Mm!" Momiji nodded. "He didn't have much to talk about though."  
  
Hatsuharu nodded in agreement, "He was quiet. And fidgety." He considered a moment, "And short." He accepted a cup of tea from a blushing Tooru. He looked back at Shigure, "Where is Yuki?"  
  
"Ah," Shigure smiled, "It seems Yuki-kun isn't feeling well. He's been in bed all day."  
  
Hatori looked up and traded an inexpressive look with Shigure who kept his cheerful mask carefully in place. Hatsuharu stood quickly and Tooru nearly dropped the hot kettle.  
  
"Yuki-kun isn't well?" She said distressed. She's spent the entire day having a good time and Yuki was ill the whole time? She set the teakettle on the table, "I should go see if he needs anything."  
  
Hatori turned to Hatsuharu who was looking impassively up the stairs. "Fetch my bag from the car." The white head nodded and left the room. Hatori looked at Tooru, "Why don't you get started on dinner? I'm sure food can only help." The girl bit her lip and did as she was told retiring to the kitchen in worry.  
  
Hatori knocked on Yuki's door but there was no response. He closed his eyes and sighed. This was too familiar. He tried the door and found that it was unlocked. "I'm coming in."   
  
Yuki was a lump on the bed in the dim light of the room. He didn't stir as Hatori entered the room, but the change in his breathing let the doctor know he wasn't sleeping. He pulled up a chair by the bedside and waited.  
  
Finally Yuki cracked a violet eye and sighed. The dragon wasn't going away. He sat up and looked at his folded hands on the bedspread. He let his hair fall over his eyes and sighed heavily again. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He just wanted to sleep. His sleep-fogged brain didn't even question why Hatori was there.  
  
When it became clear that Yuki wasn't going to speak, Hatori finally took the cigarette from his mouth and carefully stubbed it out. "Are you ill?"  
  
Yuki shook his head, then looked up at the soft rap on the door. Not waiting for permission Hatsuharu poked his head in. He held up Hatori's medical bag by way of explanation. The cow exchanged a wordless conversation with the doctor as he handed the bag over then went out to wait outside. Hatori pulled out a stethoscope and placed the ends in his ears. "Open your shirt." Yuki was obedient, taking the tack he thought most likely to get rid of the other as soon as possible. "Breathe in."  
  
Yuki took a deep breath, concentrating on the sound as it rattled into his lungs. He was starting to wake up a little and wonder why the doctor had come. Had Shigure called him?  
  
"Your breathing sounds fine. I don't think you'll suffer much from your bronchi for much longer." Hatori gave Yuki another long look. "If you aren't ill, why are you in bed?"  
  
"'M tired." Yuki's voice came out as a whisper. He coughed to clear it. "I was just tired."  
  
"Have you eaten today?" Hatori turned the light on the desk on. The boy on the bed drew back in dismay, blinking and trying to shield his eyes from the sudden light. Hatori frowned internally. He didn't like the atmosphere in the room. He'd thought the boy was improving.   
  
Yuki squinted and tried to think. Had he eaten when he'd gone downstairs? He thought Shigure might have put something in front of him but he wasn't sure. He didn't think he'd eaten. In fact, the very thought made him feel ill. "No."  
  
"You will *become* ill if you keep this up." Hatori said irritably. "I already have one permanent patient. I don't need another. Do you want to return to the main house so badly?"  
  
Yuki's eyes flew open and he stared at the dragon. Return? He never wanted to go back! But he couldn't open his mouth to say the words. They were caught somewhere under another lump of words, and if he started saying those words...he wouldn't be able to stop speaking until it all spilled out.   
  
Hatori watched the boy struggle and bit back his frustration. It wasn't that he didn't understand. Perhaps it was that he understood too well. Things had been going so well. He stood. Pressing too much right now could damage things further. "Dinner will be ready soon, you should come down and eat."  
  
Yuki turned to look at the wall. Hatori sighed and walked to the door. He nodded to Hatsuharu who stood outside leaning against the wall. The tall boy straightened and cast concerned look at the door. Hatori just closed his eyes and walked past down the stairs. Hatsuharu followed him with his eyes and then looked back at the door. Not bothering to knock again he walked in. Yuki had stretched out again preferring to pull the blankets up over his head rather than bother to turn out the light. He resolutely faced the wall.  
  
Hatsuharu took Hatori's abandoned chair and turned it backwards. Sitting down and crossing his arms across the top of the chair he looked at the boy sprawled on the bed. He continued to stare until Yuki finally rolled to his back and pulled off the covers. He spared Hatsuharu a withering glance then stared sternly back up at the ceiling.  
  
"Is Yuki not talking again?" Hatsuharu watched his barb strike home.   
  
Yuki sat up explosively, throwing the covers back and tossing a pillow at the wall opposite. Hatsuharu watched it fly with his usual bland look. He looked back at Yuki, he still hadn't answered. "Maybe I just haven't anything to say."  
  
The other fiddled with a lock of his white hair and studied the ceiling through it. "Is that really okay? Not to say anything?"  
  
Yuki just looked at him angrily. What did he know about anything?  
  
"Fujitsima might steal her away."  
  
The mouse felt his breath catch stared in shock at the cow. Hatsuharu propped his chin up against a hand refusing to move his eyes from Yuki's face. "I didn't think Yuki would give up so easily."  
  
"There is nothing to give up." Yuki insisted.   
  
"Mmmm....?" Hatsuharu rumbled. "Is that so?" The mouse couldn't meet his eyes and looked away to the wall.   
  
"How do you know about Fujitsima?" Yuki asked finally when the silence had stretched too long even for him.   
  
"Momiji and I met Tooru and he while they were out. They were walking arm and arm. You too Yuki..." the older boy looked at him in confusion, "You should take Tooru's arm too."  
  
Yuki blew out a breath of disgust. "Stop being stupid." They'd been walking arm and arm? He'd dared to take Honda's hand a few times, but he'd never dared to presume on her personal space enough to take her arm. His fist clenched under the sheets. How dare Fujitsima take her arm so casually! Underneath, dark wiggle of concern needled at him. Had she liked it? What else had they done?  
  
Haru considered his bangs again, "Is it so stupid to pursue the person you like?" He sighed and let his head fall to his crossed arms. "I don't think so...I think even if they don't know how much you care..." the boy closed his eyes and a fall of long black hair slipped through his mind, "...that you shouldn't give up." He looked back up at the boy in the bed who was regarding him seriously. "Tooru-kun isn't the type to know unless you say something. Yuki should tell her how he feels." He gave a sudden, sweet innocent smile. "I think it would make Tooru-kun very happy."  
  
There was a tentatively knock at the door. "Hatsuharu-san? Yuki-kun? Dinner is ready..." Tooru said hesitantly through the door. Hatsuharu gave Yuki a protracted look and unwrapped his long legs from the chair. He closed his eyes and sauntered out the door.  
  
He nodded to Tooru as he walked past, eyes closed. He jerked a thumb in the direction of the door and headed down the stairs. Tooru blinked her eyes after him then poked her head cautiously into the doorway. Her eyes fluttered as they adjusted to the dim light of the only lamp in the room. Focusing in on the bed, she stepped in and clasped her hands over heart worriedly.   
  
"Does Yuki-kun have a cold?" She stepped closer to the bed and Yuki felt ashamed for making her feel the worry painted across her face.   
  
He shook his head, and made a dissenting noise. "Mmm-mm. I'm just tired today."  
  
Tooru smiled and sat on the edge of his bed. "Yuki-kun has been working so hard lately!" She cocked her head and shook a finger at him. "Yuki-kun doesn't think about himself enough!" She looked at him seriously. "Yuki-kun should take it easy this week and not force himself so much. If Yuki-kun fell ill the whole class would be sad."   
  
Yuki couldn't meet her eyes and looked at the bedspread. Tooru's hand lay against the fabric a mere inches from his own. He looked up to see Tooru smiling at him still.  
  
'Tooru-kun isn't the type to know unless you say something.'  
  
'Is it really ok? Not to say anything?'  
  
Yuki covered Tooru's hand with his own. She looked up at him in surprise. "And Honda-san?"  
Tooru's face flamed. Yuki was looking at her so strangely. His eyes had gotten a liquid, secret look to them. His hair fell in a soft fall against the side of his face and Tooru was reminded that this was the prince of her high school staring at her. A small smile lit about his lips as he watched the expressions chase across her face.  
  
"Eh?" She asked breathlessly.  
  
"Would Honda-san be sad if I fell ill?"  
  
Tooru's face crumpled at the mere thought. "Colds can be very serious." She bit her lip and looked away from him. "I would be very sad if something happened to Yuki-kun."  
  
Yuki suddenly found it hard to breathe. How could he have been so thoughtless? Honda's father had died of a "cold that got worse." How could he have spoken about it so casually, so heartlessly? His hand still lay over hers. He squeezed it tight.  
  
"Honda-san. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." Tooru looked back at him in surprise. "I shouldn't have joked about it." He squeezed her hand again and released her. Tooru stood and smiled.   
  
"Would Yuki-kun like me to bring him up a tray?" She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled at him. "I made noodles."  
  
Yuki smiled and drew his legs over the side of the bed. "No, I'll come down. Honda-san's noodles are sure to be delicious."  
  
Tooru blushed and left the room, giving Yuki a few minutes to compose himself. Remembering something she'd forgotten she quickly stepped into her room. Stepping out of hers just as Yuki was stepping out of his room Tooru smiled and held up a little package. "I didn't have a chance to give Yuki-kun this earlier. Happy Valentine's Day, though it's almost over."  
  
Yuki took the package, decorated with Mickey Mouse silhouettes and looked at it curiously. He unwrapped it to see a mouse shaped chocolate inside. It had a long looping tail that he traced with his finger.   
  
"The tail was very hard, it kept breaking." Tooru chattered, a little worried at his silence. "I had to re-melt it several times. And the paper, I wanted to find something cuter, but it was hard. There weren't many styles with mice. There was one with the 'three blind mice', but I thought-"  
  
"Thank you." Yuki interrupted. "I wish Honda-san hadn't gone to so much trouble."  
  
Tooru put her hands up in quick dismissal. "A~ah! No, no! It wasn't trouble." She smiled. "It was fun. Picking out the papers, choosing the shapes, it was lots of fun." She looked down and clasped her hands. "All year long so many people have watched out and cared for me. I've met so many new people who have shared their hearts with me." She looked back up and Yuki was struck by the extremely sweet look on her face. "When I made the chocolates and saw how many people I had to thank this year, I felt very happy. That I can have so much fun with so many people, for that I am very grateful." She blinked and brought her hand up to her face. "Ah! The noodles! They'll get cold!" She started to rush down the steps, then looked back at Yuki questioningly.  
  
"I'll be down in a moment. I just want to put this away." He held up the little package. Tooru nodded and hurried down the steps.  
  
Yuki walked back into his room and carefully closed the door. Walking over to the desk he opened the second to last drawer carefully. He reached far in back and pulled out a small box. With a feeling of ritual, he opened it up and pulled out the contents. First were the chocolates Tooru had given him last year in its little blue box. He had eaten one, just so he could tell her honestly that they had been delicious. Next was their class picture. It was a reject from the yearbook that he'd managed to save. He and Kyou were arguing in the back row amongst the S's, Tooru looked up in concern from her lower vantage point next to Hanajima among the H's. Uotani was saying something to egg Kyou on from behind them. Yuki couldn't even remember what they'd been arguing about; it was just another argument out of a thousand. The picture had captured Tooru's sweet and caring look so well that he had had to have the picture. When he saw it in the garbage pile one day when the yearbook staff had been sharing the records room with some of the student council members he'd been quick to pocket it. He couldn't remember the excuse he gave for wanting it, but it wasn't as if anyone in school ever refused him anything.  
  
Another picture below it had been clipped from the school paper. It was a picture of he and Tooru standing in front of the onigiri booth from the school festival. It was before he had to put on that awful dress. The photographer, a plant from the princess club, had wanted just Yuki in the picture but he'd insisted that Tooru stand with a platter of her onigiri as well. She was smiling so wide you couldn't see her eyes, and even in the black and white picture you could tell she was blushing. He thought again about buying a frame for it. He set it aside and pulled out the last item, a frayed blue ribbon. Tooru had given it to him one day when a lace on his shoe snapped as a temporary fix. Carefully folding up the Mickey Mouse paper, he tied it up with the ribbon. He placed the mouse chocolate securely in its box and sat it next to the ones from last year. Picking up the onigiri picture again he sat for a moment considering it.  
  
Someday, this was all going to come to an end. He wasn't so foolish to think that Akito would let this joy go on forever. Sooner or later, it would end. He had to have something to prove that it had been real. Something hidden away to keep this dream alive, something they couldn't take away from him. He tenderly placed each item back in the box and placed the top back on the box. He laid his palm flat against the top.  
  
He'd never thought it would end because Tooru would choose someone else. He'd been working so hard to try to become the kind of person that could be open and free as she was. He'd always thought that when he'd accomplished it...that she would be there waiting for him. He carefully placed the box back in its hiding spot. He stood and walked to the door his face a serious mask. He stepped into the hall in determination. He didn't have the right to have her by him. He didn't deserve her. He didn't care.  
  
He walked downstairs and into the room with the others seated around the table. Hatsuharu looked up at him and gave him a measuring look. He nodded back and sat down next to Momiji. He looked across the table to see Hatori considering him soberly. He lifted his chin and didn't lower his gaze. He wasn't going back, he wasn't giving up. Tooru set a plate of noodles down at his place and glowed happily at him. He smiled back at her and picked up his chopsticks. He was going to keep it safe.   
  
He was going to protect this dream. He wasn't going to let anyone steal it away.  
  
* * * 


	9. Cleaning

Kyou poked his stick at another piece of garbage and tried to figure out if he was feeling relieved or upset. He'd managed to avoid returning to Shigure's house all day on Saturday, returning just in time to see Tooru waving goodbye to Hatsuharu, Momiji and Hatori as they left for the night. He'd badly wanted to ask what they'd been doing there, and to find out what happened with Fujitsima. But he'd stopped himself when he saw predatory look on Shigure's face. He was just waiting for an opportunity to tease. Damned if he was going to give him ammunition.  
  
Yuki, the damn mouse, had been no help either. He just sat looking smugly at the table, a half eaten piece of cake in front of him. He raised his eyebrows at Kyou, challenging him to ask what had happened. He was eager, the cat was sure, to rub in the fact that he knew what was going on while he himself didn't. Well, he wasn't going to give him a chance. So instead he'd swallowed all his questions and pleaded exhaustion when Tooru asked if he'd wanted dessert. He'd escaped from them all, and hid in his room until he'd heard the house go quiet.   
  
Then he'd crept up onto the roof and watched the stars; his stomach gurgling in hunger and frustration. He didn't admit it, even to himself, not even deep inside...but he'd been hoping that Tooru would somehow sense how he was feeling. That he'd suddenly see her peeping over the side of the rooftop, onigiri platter in hand. They'd talk, and he'd feel better and things would go back to normal again. But she didn't come. Was she in bed, dreaming of Fujitsima? So he'd spent the night staring at the stars until they faded from the sky in the new dawn.   
  
The next day had proved to be a rainy one. He'd never been so glad to feel the approaching rain. Everyone knew to give him wide berth when it was wet and grim outside. He didn't have to worry about snapping at Tooru. She'd just smiled at him over breakfast and encouraged him to take it easy because of the weather. He'd retired to his room and let the rainy day seep into him; deliberately sleeping the day away.  
  
He'd risen a little late gone downstairs the next day to find breakfast waiting but Tooru already gone. She'd had morning duties at school and had left early. The three males of the Souma family had spent a silent breakfast. Kyou had choked down the food around the questions blocking his throat, and quickly left for school. He didn't want to be forced to walk to school with that damn mouse if Tooru wasn't going to be there as well. People might think he actually liked or tolerated him or something.  
  
Kyou sighed and shifted the bag he was carrying. He cast his eyes around his area. There was nothing left to clean up here. The day had passed quickly, and Kyou hadn't had a moment to talk with Tooru. Her friends had monopolized her during every free moment. They'd been eager to pump her for information on her date and hadn't welcomed his hovering in the background. And just as annoying every time she and Fujitsima glanced at each other they couldn't seem to help breaking into embarrassed smiles and blushing like mad.  
  
What the heck had happened on their date?!  
  
He moved to another area of the yard and stabbed furiously at piece of garbage. Now the day was half over, and he still had hardly spoken to Tooru. He was trapped in after-school clean up duties and Tooru would be at her part time job by the time he was finished. He couldn't figure out if he was relieved or upset that he'd managed to avoid her for another day. He was a mess of tension and frustration. He really wished he could go to the dojo and practice.  
  
He looked at the bandages on his hands and sighed. His hands still weren't healed enough for Shishou to allow him back. He tightened his hands around the stick in his hands. Dammit! He really wanted to hit something! He settled for stabbing an offending paper cup viciously with his stick.  
  
"Details! We want details!"  
  
"Give 'em up Maseo!"  
  
"Quit holding back!"  
  
Kyou's ears pricked at the cajoling voices. He was pretty sure that those were guys in his class. He edged a little closer to the bushes they were coming from and peeked through them. Fujitsima stood holding a bag of garbage and blushing furiously at two guys from class.  
  
"C'mon guys, drop it." He pleaded.  
  
"Not till we get details!" One of the boys jabbed at Fujitsima jokingly with an elbow.  
  
Fujitsima graduated to another impossible shade of red and turned away from them. He made a big show of stabbing at some scraps of paper on the ground. "Why are you so interested? Jeeze! It was just one date."  
  
"Oh, come ON!" The other boy leaned against his cleaning stick, not event attempting to look like he was working. "It was Valentine's Day!"  
  
Kyou turned from the bushes, his shoulders tense and his neck sore. They were talking about Tooru's date with that kid. Damned if he was going to listen in.   
  
But even though he turned away he couldn't make himself leave. His hands tightened around the stick, he had to know what happened.  
  
"What do you think happened?" Fujitsima demanded, his frustration obvious just from his voice. Apparently this coaxing had gone on for a while now. "It was a first date!"  
  
"Yeah...but it was a first date with *Honda*!"  
  
Kyou was sure he didn't like the emphasis that had been placed on Tooru's name. Neither, it appears, did Fujitsima.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.  
  
There was a pause, then one of the boys began diffidently, "Well, you know...it's not like she's really bright..." he trailed off but was encouraged by a snigger from his companion. "And she's real...suggestible." Fujitsima didn't say anything, which the boy took as encouragement. "I'd bet she'd do just about anything...you know...*anything*." His voice had become leering.  
  
Kyou felt himself flush red. They couldn't be talking about Tooru like that!  
  
"And it's not like she's miss innocent." The other boy broke in. "I bet she's done lots of stuff before. I mean, you've heard the stories she tells about her mother. You know how it goes...like mother like daughter...right?" His voiced gained confidence, "And I mean...look at who she hangs out with! That Uotani chick...you know she's been around." He laughed unpleasantly, "And she's always disappearing with that Kyou..."  
  
Kyou went scarlet with fury hearing himself brought into it.  
  
"Yeah, yeah!" the other boy snickered, "I know a girl from class A and *she* said she saw them coming off the top part together." The boy made a self confident sound deep in his throat, "What do you *think* they're doing up on that rooftop together? I bet they go up there every day!"  
  
The first boy broke back in, happy to heap on the dirt, "And you know what I heard? I heard Honda was seen with an older man downtown! I bet it was a..." his voice lowered as if imparting a secret bit of information, "...compensated date!"  
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"  
  
Kyou stopped in his tracks. He'd been all set to burst through the bushes and lay waste to the three on the other side, but the absolute fury in Fujitsima's voice made him pause.  
  
"Honda-san isn't like that! She said our date was her first!" Fujitsima raged. "So you take that back!"  
  
The other boys paused for barely a beat.  
  
"Oh, come on Maseo!" They didn't sound the least bit friendly now. They didn't like being denied their rumors and dirty ideas.  
  
"Yeah, come on!" the second boy taunted. "Just think of the way she's always trailing after Souma-kun. She's in heat for him just like the other girls. I bet she'd do him in a heartbeat."  
  
"I bet she *is* doing him!" the first boy picked up from where the other had left off. "I bet that's why he's always so nice to her and why all the other girls hate her!"  
  
"You just SHUT UP!" Kyou heard a clatter as the boy's sticks hit the ground and an all too familiar sound of flesh striking flesh not far behind. He blinked in amazement. He wasn't used to being the observer in a fight.  
  
"You little shit!" One of the boys said derisively, "What do you think you're doing?" There was an audible scuffle.  
  
There was a heavy thud and an unmistakable groan. That was Fujitsima! There were a couple more meaty thunks followed by a retching sound.  
  
"Jesus Maseo!" The other boy said jeeringly. "What a wimp! You hold him so I can hit him now."  
  
Kyou couldn't take it anymore. He burst through the bushes and into the middle of things. One boy held a weakly struggling Maseo. The other sported what looked to be Maseo's one good hit on darkening eye. He looked up in shock at Kyou, his fist still raised to hammer down on Maseo.  
  
The red-haired fury didn't pause for a beat. He flew into boy about to strike Fujitsima, flinging him back. In one fluid movement he swung back to the one holding the slight boy down. He didn't even try to defend himself, his mouth agape at Kyou's speed. The cat's fist hit him hard on the jaw and he released the stunned Maseo. Fujitsima slid to the ground gaping up at his rescuer.  
  
Kyou started to say something to him when the first boy hit him from behind. The blow was nothing compared to one of Yuki's or even one of his sparring partners at the dojo, but it knocked him back for a moment. It was enough to give the second boy a chance to get to his feet. Kyou was hard pressed to fight them both.  
  
It wasn't as if he couldn't take them easily. The problem was trying not to hurt them too badly in the process. They obviously had had zero training. Fujitsima didn't make matters any better as he joined in trying to help. The slight boy was underfoot every time Kyou turned around hampering his movements. Things quickly degenerated into a free-for-all.  
  
A heavy hand landed on Kyou's shoulder and he spun with his fist raised. He stopped his fist a mere inches from a startled looking face. Kyou dropped his fist in a hurry. He'd almost hit a teacher! He looked around and saw that the other boys were being similarly rounded up. He closed his eyes in resignation, the fight going out of him. This was his second fight at school. He probably wouldn't get off with just a warning this time.  
  
Well, at least he'd gotten to hit something.  
  
* * *  
  
Kyou blew out a lusty sigh of frustration. How long where they going to keep him here? He rocked back in the chair. The teachers had separated the boys into different rooms almost immediately. It was pretty standard procedure. He supposed the teachers were asking the others what had happened, trying to find out how the fight had started. They'd get around to him eventually.  
  
He wondered what he should say. He'd been in enough fights to know you never told the full truth to the "authorities." But those guys...he couldn't believe they thought or said such things.  
  
Kyou chewed at his lip. Did everyone think what they had? Did they think that he and Tooru were doing...stuff... together? But that was just so wrong!  
  
"Sit properly in that chair young man!"  
  
The legs of Kyou's chair legs hit the floor with a slam. He resisted the temptation to glare at whatever teacher had come in for surprising him. He kept his head down and focused on the desk in front of him. This was his second fight at this school; he couldn't afford to antagonize the administration too much.  
  
A sheaf of papers was slapped down on the desk before him.   
  
"I don't suppose I should be surprised, after looking over your record from your last school. Fights, truancy...you have a long history of being a problem."  
  
The cat tried to keep his hackles from rising. He tried to keep calm. They were trying to make him mad...to provoke him. If he fought back, if he argued, they could give him a worse punishment.   
  
"We were persuaded to give you another chance..." The teacher took the chair from another desk and turned it to face Kyou's. Settling in it he continued, "But I'm not so sure that was a good idea."  
  
Kyou steadfastly examined a mark on the desk. He wished this blowhard would just get to the lecture, assign his punishment, and get it over with.   
  
"I don't know what those boys said to provoke you...but you should know violence isn't the way to solve it." The teacher gave a weary sigh, "and even worse...you pulled Fujitsima-kun into it as well."  
  
"WHAT!?" Kyou's head flew up. Pulled Fujitsima?!  
  
The teacher jumped at Kyou's reaction but recovered quickly. "Don't deny it. Fujitsima-kun has a spotless record. The other boys won't talk, but I think it's obvious what happened."  
  
Kyou tried in vain to keep his lips from pulling into a grimace.  
  
"Those other two said something to make you mad. Maybe they said something about your hair? It doesn't matter...."   
The teacher waved off whatever had caused the fight as unimportant. "And you threw a punch. Fujitsima-kun tried to help..."   
  
"That's not what happened!" The words escaped from him before he could stop them.  
  
"Then what did happen?" The teacher pounced on the opening.  
  
Kyou fastened his eyes back on the spot on the desk, grinding his teeth in frustration. If he said how the fight had started he'd just be pointing fingers at Fujitsima. After the scenario the teacher had just proposed, even if he told the truth he'd look like he was lying to cover himself.  
  
  
The teacher sighed. "You're digging your own grave. Without some sort of explanation I'm afraid I'm going to have to recommend suspension-"  
  
"But that's not fair!"  
  
Kyou and the teacher both whipped around to look at the doorway. Fujitsima stood looking battered and worse for wear. He had a black eye, scrapes, cuts and his uniform was torn.   
  
"Maseo-kun?" The teacher's eyebrows rose. "I appreciate you trying to protect your friend, but-"  
  
"You said you were just going to give me and the others a warning!" Fujitsima said accusingly. A short, pudgy man stepped in behind him and put a calming hand on the boy's shoulder.  
  
"Calm down, son." He said with a pat.  
  
"But, Dad!" Maseo said looking up at the man, "Its not fair!"  
  
"Maseo-kun, you have to understand that we have to make sure that this kind of incident doesn't happen again. If we don't punish the instigator..." The teacher threw an accusing glance at Kyou, "...it will just happen again."  
  
"But it's not *Kyou's* fault!" Fujitsima said incredulously. He flushed and stared at his toes, realizing that he'd said too much.  
  
There was a tense moment where everyone stared at the beaten boy. He'd really dug himself into a hole, Kyou reflected. There was no way that they'd just let him go without explaining now.  
  
"Son...if you know something the teacher ought, now's the time to speak." Fujitsima's father cleaned his glasses and gave his son a long look. "It wouldn't be fair to let this boy get a mark on his record if you know something that could clear him."  
  
Fujitsima cast a guilty glance towards Kyou, and then back up at his father. He examined his toes again. "The fight wasn't Kyou's fault...It was mine."  
  
"Yours?" The teacher said skeptically. "Don't lie just to cover for him..."  
  
"I'm not lying!" Fujitsima cried. He straightened his back and confessed. "I was talking with the other guys and they started to say some bad stuff about my gir-" Fujitsima flushed again and stopped himself, "...bad stuff about a girl in our class. I told them to stop, but they wouldn't."  
  
He looked up at his father, "I couldn't let them say that stuff, Dad! It wasn't right." He looked back at the teacher, "When they wouldn't stop...I just got so mad..."  
  
"You threw a punch." The teacher supplied nodding. "But that doesn't explain how Kyou-kun got involved...nor why the boys claim only Kyou managed to hit them."  
  
"Kyou was just trying to help." Fujitsima explained, "I'm...I'm not a very good fighter. Hinoto-kun and Subaru-kun...well...I didn't last long...When Kyou came around the corner it looked like two against one and he was just trying to get them off me. I'm sure of it! He was just trying to help...he shouldn't be blamed for it!" Fujitsima ran out of steam and his shoulders slumped. "It just wouldn't be fair."  
  
"Is this true Kyou-kun?" The teacher asked.  
  
Kyou supposed it was true enough. He gave a brisk nod.  
  
The teacher's mouth worked as he chewed on his false assumptions. "Well, I suppose we will let you off with just a warning then...but next time, if you see a student in trouble, get a teacher!"  
  
"Yes sir." Kyou said, trying to keep his tone respectful. "Can I go now?"  
  
"We're just waiting for your guardian to come pick you up." The teacher frowned, and looked at the papers he'd brought in earlier. "We're having trouble getting in touch with your...cousin is it...Shigure?"  
  
"We can give the boy a ride home." Fujitsima's father spoke up. "Seeing as the boy was just playing hero to my son, there is no real reason to involve his guardian is there?"  
  
"Well..." The teacher said uncertainly.  
  
"I'd hate to have to bring up this incident, teachers lying to students, at the next PTA meeting." The pudgy little man said blandly, cleaning his glasses.  
  
The teacher blanched, "Lying? I don't know what you mean-"  
  
"Oh...you didn't tell my son that everyone involved was getting off with just a warning? You almost hung an innocent boy out for a crime he didn't commit." Fujitsima senior made a show of placing his glasses back on.   
  
"That was just...just a misunderstanding!" The teacher insisted, getting flustered.  
  
Blinking owlishly at the teacher Fujitsima's father nodded, "Fine, fine then. Now...is there any problem with us offering the boy a ride home?" He walked over to Kyou and placed a hand on his shoulder. Kyou looked up in surprise. But the man wasn't looking at him he was focusing his attention on the teacher.  
  
"I suppose that's fine." The teacher blustered, trying as much as possible not to look like he'd been bullied into it.  
"Let's go then boys." Fujitsima's father smiled and waved them ahead of him.  
  
Kyou stood up from his desk and followed Fujitsima out of the room. They walked out of the school in silence.  
  
"I..." Kyou jumped and looked up at Fujitsima, "I just want to say thanks." Fujitsima scratched at one of his scrapes.   
  
"Un." Kyou grunted. He glanced at Fujitsima's father bringing up the rear. He really just wanted to get home, lay out on the roof and try to figure out what he was feeling. He'd been on a roller coaster ride the entire day. Now he didn't know if he wanted to be jealous of, grateful to, or mad at Fujitsima. The only thing he did know is that he didn't want to be around him anymore.  
  
"Car's over this way." Fujitsima's father nodded towards the parking lot.  
  
"I'll walk." Kyou said shortly, then realized how rude that sounded. "Thanks anyway." That didn't sound much better.  
  
"Nonsense." Fujitsima's father smiled, "We've made you late enough getting home as it is." He clapped a heavy hand on Kyou's shoulder and the other on Fujitsima's and guided the boys to the car.  
  
Kyou sat in the back seat with Fujitsima and looked steadfastly out the window. Fujitsima's father tried to engage him a couple of times in conversation. He talked about how he'd been young once too, and knew how healthy boys could get riled up over a girl. He sounded absurdly pleased that his son had started a fight over a girl's honor.   
  
Kyou ground his teeth and restricted himself to just giving basic directions out as needed. He didn't think it at all amusing that Tooru's honor needed defending.  
  
"Lucky though that you were around!" Fujitsima senior said looking at Kyou through the back window. "My Maseo's a bright boy...but he's never been a scrapper. From what I saw of those boys you did pretty well for two against one. I don't see a mark on you! You study martial arts?"  
  
"Un." Kyou replied noncommittally.  
  
"Where do you study? Maybe I could enroll Maseo there."   
  
"Shishou isn't taking any more students." Kyou lied. Honestly, he didn't know if there were any spots free in the dojo's open classes. But he wasn't having his one sanctuary invaded by Fujitsima.   
  
"That's a shame."  
  
"Daaad." Fujitsima's face was bright red.  
  
"Here we are." Fujitsima Senior pulled up in front of the house. He leaned over the seat to look at Kyou. "I'll just pop in to let your...cousin was it?... know what happened in school. Smooth things over for you."  
  
"That's alright." Kyou hastened to assure him.  
  
"No, no...I don't want you getting into any trouble." Fujitsima's father was already out of the car.  
Kyou followed Maseo out of the car; grateful at least that Tooru wouldn't be home. She'd be safely at her part time job.   
  
"I'm home." He said tiredly stepping through the door.   
  
"Kyou-kun is late today!"   
  
Kyou's eyes flew open in shock. Tooru stood happily in the doorway to the kitchen, stirring something in a bowl.   
  
"Honda-san?!" Fujitsima peeked out from around Kyou's shoulder.  
  
"Fujitsima-kun!" Tooru dropped the bowl, sending a splatter of what looked to be curried rice splattering across the floor. 


	10. Explanation

Tooru and Fujitsima stood staring at each other dumbly. Kyou's eyes ping-ponged back and forth between them his mind racing. How the heck were they going to explain this? Before today he wouldn't have given another thought about telling someone that Tooru was in fact living with them. If it weren't for the curse he would have thought all the secrecy was just stupid and unnecessary. But with what he'd heard those boys saying today...  
  
"Oh dear, oh dear," Fujitsima's father said mildly. "What a mess."  
  
"If you only knew," thought Kyou.  
  
"Here, miss," the pudgy man said picking up the bowl. "Why don't you go grab a wet cloth?" As she scampered off to do so he deftly used the bowl to scrape up the bulk of the mess. "There you go miss...?" he trailed off and raised his eyebrows questioningly.   
  
"Ah! Sorry! Sorry!" Tooru bowed apologetically as she returned with the cloth, "I'm Honda Tooru, pleased to meet you."   
  
"Tooru-kun," Shigure sing-songed as he stepped out of his study, "When is-" He stopped in surprise when he saw the crowd in the entryway. "Ara? We have guests?"  
  
Fujitsima senior stepped around the bottleneck created by the gaping teenagers and held out a hand. "Hello there," he said pleasantly. "You must be Shigure-san?"  
  
"Yes." Shigure's tone was polite, but his eyes darted curiously over the scene in the hallway. He took in Tooru's shock, Kyou's tense posture and the battered and bruised Maseo before looking back at the owlish man before him. Belatedly he took a hand out of his sleeve to shake, "And you are?"   
  
"Fujitsima Kenji. This is my son, Maseo." Fujitsima senior clapped a hand on his son's back.   
  
Shigure's eyebrows went up at the name. Kyou winced. Here it came, some inane babble about here was the person who was going to steal their "flower". Or maybe something stupid about how Tooru was their bride and Fujitsima couldn't have her or...  
  
"Won't you come inside?" Shigure said pleasantly, gesturing to the living room.  
  
They settled around the low table and Tooru dashed to the kitchen to get some tea. She set the tea down in front of them and took a calming breath before starting to pour. She felt as if her brain had stopped the moment Fujitsima's head had popped out from behind Kyou's back. Now she was just going through the motions. It felt like she was waiting for a storm.  
  
Fujitsima and his father sat on one side of the table, while Kyou and Shigure sat across from them. Tooru sat by herself along the edge of the table. She bit her lip and put her hands in her lap. She desperately wanted to fiddle with her teacup but felt self-conscious. Fujitsima couldn't stop staring at her, looking away and reddening only when her reluctant eyes met his. His father was more surreptitious about his glances, but she could still feel his heavy-handed curiosity settling all around her.  
  
Shigure read the pleading glance she wasn't even aware she sent to him and decided to break the deliciously tense tableau. He didn't know what exactly what was going on, but he could hazard a guess with the battered condition of Tooru's beau.  
  
"So." Shigure said smiling, "Did Kyon-kichi cause trouble again?"  
  
"Don't call me that!" The words burst out of Kyou out of surprised habit. He glanced at Fujitsima and his father and his face burned uncomfortably. His fist pounded on the table, "Why do you assume it's me?!"  
  
"When someone shows a bruised and bloody face in front of me and you are involved I'm inclined to get a little suspicious." Shigure smiled genially and took a sip of his tea.  
  
Fujitsima Senior coughed politely and set down his cup of tea. "I suppose you heard from the school then?"  
  
"The school?" Shigure repeated his eyebrows shooting back up.  
  
"They didn't call?" Fujitsima's father was obviously nonplussed by Shigure's casual and disarming behavior.  
  
"Is *that* who was calling?" Shigure put his hand to the side of his face, "I thought it was my editor so I didn't answer."  
  
"Ah. Well..." Fujitsima Senior coughed again and glanced at his son who was still staring soulfully at the girl sitting to the side. Things were becoming a bit clearer. "There was a little ruckus you see."  
  
"It wasn't Kyou's fault!" Fujitsima burst. Everyone's eyes turned to him and his face flamed. "The teachers thought it was, but it wasn't." he explained lamely. His father put a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Yes, its something I'll have to bring up at the next PTA meeting. Your cousin here nearly got hung out to dry for being a hero." Fujitsima Senior took another sip of his tea and smiled at Tooru. "This is very good Miss." She blushed and he turned his attention back to Shigure, "Seems some of the other boys in class were talking a bit rough about a girl in class." He was careful not to let his gaze stray back to Tooru. "My boy took offense, but couldn't really back himself up, you see."   
  
Fujitsima wilted under his father's casual disregard for his physical prowess. "I couldn't just let them say that stuff." He asserted under his breath, "It wasn't *right*."  
  
"Mother always said that people shouldn't gossip!" Tooru agreed firmly. "I think it's awful that people would say bad things about one of our classmates!" She looked at Fujitsima admiringly. "It's so kind that you would stand up for a fellow student."  
  
Only Tooru, Kyou reflected, could be so dense as to not realize that she was the girl that had been so maligned. He was getting pretty annoyed that the wimp was getting all the attention from her. After all, all Fujitsima had done was gotten beaten up.  
  
"Yes, well..." Fujitsima Senior's spectacled eyes caught the interesting byplay between the children around the table. "It was lucky for Maseo that Kyou was around. It was two against one when your cousin came up." He smiled genially at Shigure, "If you thought Maseo looked bad you should see what the other two look like. That's when the teachers got involved. Unfortunately they thought Kyou here was the instigator..."  
  
"Ah." Shigure nodded. With Kyou's spotted school record, it was to be expected.  
  
"Well, I wanted to make sure that you understood that he was just helping out my boy. He really wasn't at fault at all." Fujitsima smiled. "I didn't want him to get in trouble just because he was watching out for a friend."  
  
He's not my friend, Kyou thought sourly as Shigure and Fujitsima Senior discussed the state of public education.  
  
"Kyou-kun is always watching out for other people." Tooru smiled warmly at him thinking of all the times he'd given her advice on how to protect herself. She hadn't understood a lot of it, he'd told her to not look stupid and not to look like an easy target. She tried to keep that in mind, but how did one not look stupid? What did an easy target look like? Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about it when she was with Kyou, because he said he'd watch out for her. She beamed at Kyou, happy that he now had a friend that he wanted to protect like she wanted to protect Uo-chan and Hana-chan.  
  
Fujitsima let out a little hiss as he shifted in his seat and a piece of torn fabric that had been caught in one of his scratches pulled free.  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Tooru jumped up, "Let me get the first aid kit!" She'd been sitting there so casually while Fujitsima sat there in pain.  
  
"Oh, no...uh... that's OK!" Fujitsima tried to protest, but the girl was already gone.  
  
Kyou and Fujitsima's eyes met briefly as they both returned their gaze back over the table after watching Tooru go. Kyou broke the connection quickly, not wanting to see the boy's obvious feelings reflected there. What must he be thinking now? First he goes and defends Tooru's honor, now he finds her living with Kyou and his cousins. Did he feel betrayed?  
  
Did that mean he'd go away?  
  
Kyou felt a sick lurch in his stomach. He must be the scum of the earth to actually feel hopeful at that thought. It certainly wasn't his place to want Fujitsima to leave. It wasn't fair to Tooru. It was like Shigure said; they didn't get these kinds of opportunities. It didn't mean the same should be true for Tooru.  
  
Tooru returned with a familiar white box. Kyou had been at the receiving end of bandages and antiseptics from its depths at Tooru's hands before. Usually after yet another failed bout with Yuki, though those had become less frequent.   
  
Tooru's wide eyes grew gentle and focused as she lightly tended to Fujitsima's wounds while Shigure and Fujitsima's father chatted about the failings of the school system. She clucked and chattered as she placed a bandage over this hurt, as she cleaned out that scratch. Fujitsima was mostly silent a permanent flush stamped on his features. His eyes would dart to her face, then down to her hands and then away to the safe depths of the first aid box. He couldn't keep his eyes from running through that cycle.   
  
It wouldn't be fair to want Fujitsima to leave. But Kyou couldn't stop himself from wanting *just* that. Tooru was theirs! He clenched a fist.  
  
"Does Kyou-kun's hand hurt?" He looked up to see Tooru hovering over him worriedly. "It still isn't completely healed from your accident." She didn't wait for a response, settling next to him with her box she took his hand in hers and unwrapped the bandage. "Ah...the cuts have reopened a bit." She pulled out fresh bandages and antiseptic and went to work re-bandaging his hands. She'd almost finished her task when Fujitsima spoke again.  
  
"I...uh...was surprised to see Honda-san here." He didn't look at Tooru who'd frozen with the end of Kyou's bandage in one hand and his hand in her other. He kept his eyes focused on his hands clenched tightly on his knees.  
  
"Eh?!" Tooru's eyes grew wide and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.  
  
"I mean... that is..." Fujitsima fiddled with an edge of one of his new bandages. "...I know that Honda-san is friends with Kyou-kun and Souma-kun... But I don't understand why Honda-san is here...now... when they aren't here."  
  
"Ah... oh... that is..." Tooru fumbled and stammered.  
  
"She works here." Shigure said.  
  
"She studies here." Kyou said simultaneously. They looked at each other.  
  
"She works here," he corrected.  
  
"She studies here." Shigure nodded at the same time. There was a beat of silence, and Shigure spread his silliest grin across his face, "That is to say, she works here part time and then stays to study with Kyou and Yuki."  
  
Fujitsima looked between the Souma's and Tooru, confusion still evident on his face. "Oh, uh-"  
  
"She also lives here."   
  
Yuki stood coolly in the doorway watching his words deaden the room to silence. He set his bag down by the door and stepped inside. "I'm home."   
  
He sat at the table on the side opposite from Tooru's. She dropped Kyou's newly bandaged hand, jumped up and got him a teacup practically out of habit; the bomb of his words still making ripples around the room. Yuki assessed the room as Tooru poured his tea. He'd been stopped outside the student council meeting by one of the teachers and had been told about the incident earlier. He still was furious that someone had been talking badly of Tooru. The teachers hadn't mentioned her specifically, but who else would Fujitsima and Kyou both get so concerned over?  
  
But beneath the fury, there was a sense of relief. He could use this.   
  
Yuki had come to a decision. He couldn't hesitate any longer. Before he'd thought he had time to spare, time to move his way towards being the person that could best be by Honda's side. Fujitsima had shown him that time wasn't as generous as he thought. He had to move forward, he had to act.  
  
He had to get rid of Fujitsima.   
  
He didn't care how he did it. Damage could be repaired after the obstacle was gone. For now, perhaps this could be used to push out the interloper. He watched Fujitsima digest the information he'd delivered. He turned to the man by the boy's side.   
  
"I'm sorry, we weren't properly introduced. I'm Souma Yuki, Fujitsima-kun's classmate."  
  
The pudgy man's eyebrows went up. "Aren't you the young lad from the last PTA meeting? The one asking for funds for Maseo's class trip?"  
  
"Ah, yes... that was part of my duties as class president." Yuki explained smoothly. "I also heard about what happened earlier today." He shot an unreadable icy look at Maseo who blushed. "I'm supposed to talk to you about reflecting on your actions today, seeing as we are classmates. Kyou can tell you that losing your temper and resorting to violence doesn't do you much good." He shot another unreadable look at his cousin. He really didn't understand Kyou's actions in this case. He could see the affect that Tooru had on the baka neko, he shouldn't be able to stand Fujitsima any more than he could. Yuki shook off the mystery as being unimportant, Kyou was an obstacle he'd have to overcome later. If he'd learned one thing, it was to take it one step at a time.  
  
He turned his head in a calculated manner so that his hair fell back to unshield his impressive eyes. "Didn't you feel that you could come to me? If someone was speaking badly of one of our classmates, it would be my responsibility to try to put a stop to it."  
  
"Y-yes..." Maseo flushed to his roots, obviously feeling foolish.  
  
Satisfied that he'd accomplished his purpose of completely flustering Fujitsima, Yuki closed his eyes and turned his attention to Tooru. "I'm sorry Honda-san. I know we thought it would be best if people didn't know you were living here but it would be unfair to Fujitsima-san not to tell him the truth."  
  
"Yes." Tooru blushed. Yuki winced internally; he hadn't meant to embarrass her. He would make it up to her later.  
  
He turned to Fujitsima and his father, "Honda-san started living with us shortly after her Mother passed away last year."  
  
"But... I thought you lived with your grandfather?" Fujitsima's brow crinkled.  
  
"Ah... Yes... But last year it came to be that Grandfather's house was going to remodeled so Aunt and her family also could live there..." Tooru started to explain. "So Grandfather asked if I had somewhere I could stay during that time..."  
  
"So we offered Honda-san a place to stay, temporarily." Yuki interrupted. There was no reason that the Fujitsima's had to know about the embarrassing events that led to Tooru living in a tent. "In return for some simple housework and cooking."  
  
"But after the construction..." Maseo began.  
  
"Well, with her aunt's family... things where a bit crowded." Yuki also saw no need to bring up that Tooru's family, save for her grandfather, were complete garbage. "And we had come to depend on her." He paused to smile warmly at Tooru, who blushed again for a completely different reason that before.  
  
"So we decided to keep her!" Shigure said playfully, warming to Yuki's ruse.   
  
Yuki shot an ice-filled look at Shigure, but it had never had the same impact on the dog as it did the rest of the family. "But her grandfather is still her legal guardian, and we were aware how it might look to others if it came to be known that Honda-san was living alone with three males." He looked at Fujitsima and his father and they both nodded.   
  
They were both aware of what people might think because they were thinking it now. Just how deeply was Tooru involved with the Souma family? Was she *involved* with one of them? All of them? Hardly aware of it they had both turned to stare at Tooru. The girl's shoulders rose under their scrutiny.   
  
There was a subtext running underneath the conversation that Tooru didn't understand. She knew she didn't feel comfortable with all those people staring at her though. She glanced at Fujitsima and blushed. She looked away and fiddled with her hands in her lap. The pressure built as the silence stretched until Tooru couldn't take it anymore, she felt the words bubbling up and tried to stop them. It was too late; the babble had begun.  
  
"I'm very grateful to the Souma's. Grandfather said I didn't have to leave; that I was welcome there... and I'm sure Aunt wasn't really trying to be mean." She looked up wide-eyed between Fujitsima and his father. "I'm sure it was only that she was concerned for her family. They weren't used to another person being there..."  
  
She trailed off not even sure what she was trying to say. She could feel a hot lump in the back of her throat and tears in the back of her eyes. This felt so awful. She'd forgotten really, that she was just a guest in the Souma house. She'd really gotten to feel like this was home. Having to remember that there was someplace she was supposed to be besides here hurt. It was like a piercing pain in her heart. Her hand came up to clench over her chest. Why did this hurt so much?  
  
"Pffft." Kyou hissed. He leaned back on his bandaged hands; eyes closed. He couldn't bear to see Tooru so upset. "You should just forget them. They're just stupid."  
  
"Honda-san is very important to us." Yuki assured her with a glance at Fujitsima and his father. He really hadn't wanted to drag out Tooru's dirty laundry in front of them. "We wouldn't have asked you to stay otherwise. I'm sure that your aunt would have seen the same things we did in Honda-san." Tooru looked up at him in surprise. It was an effort with all these other people in the room, but Yuki took pains to make sure she could see the emotion in his eyes as he continued. "We just didn't give her much of a chance before we stole you back."  
  
"Mmm, Mmm!" Agreed Shigure, he shot a crafty look at Yuki. He could see that the boy had something in the works. The mouse could be devious when he wanted to. He looked back at Tooru who was glancing between the Souma's with such hope in her eyes. Before the mystery of Yuki could be solved, they had to reassure their little flower. It wouldn't do to loose her now. "Besides that, we couldn't do with out her. Yuki would kill us with his cooking, and Kyou would make the house fall down around our ears."  
  
"And we'd all be buried under your garbage!" Kyou spat angrily. "You lazy bum!"  
  
Fujitsima's father cleared his throat. "Well." He stood and bowed. Fujitsima scrambled to follow. "I can see that my son is lucky to have such generous and well meaning classmates." He turned to Tooru and inclined his head. "I was pleased to meet you Miss. My son has spoken highly of you at home." Maseo's face flamed in response to his father's words. Tooru glanced at him and her own cheeks lit. "I can see now that he didn't exaggerate." He smiled at Tooru again, but spoke again before she could protest. "We'd like to stay and chat some more, but we've delayed your dinner enough as it is. My wife will begin to worry soon too." He added before Tooru could add the inevitable invitation to dinner. He looked over at the Soumas, and then specifically at Kyou. "It was nice to meet you all. It's good to know my son has such good friends to stand by him."  
  
"Dad!" Fujitsima protested twisting a piece of his shirt between his hands in embarrassment.  
  
The others rose automatically as Fujitsima senior began to head towards the door. Tooru lead the way out, the Souma's trailing in a protective phalanx behind her. Fujitsima senior walked straight down the path towards his car, but Maseo hesitated on the bottom step. Coming to a decision he turned back and took hold of Tooru's hands tugging her slightly away from the Soumas.   
  
"Honda-san." He began hesitantly, "I just wanted you to know that I understand." Once he'd begun the words came quickly. "I understand why its important to keep your...uh... living arrangements... secret. You don't have to worry, I won't tell anyone. I'm glad though, that I know now." He smiled, his cheeks burning. "I was a little worried. I saw how comfortable you are with Souma-kun and Kyou-kun, and I got a little jealous. But now I understand."  
  
"Understand?" Tooru repeated. She wasn't sure if she understood.  
  
"It's like they're family right? Like brothers!" Maseo nodded firmly, "That's how I'll think of them, like Honda-san's family." He squeezed her hands firmly one last time and then let go. "I still owe you dinner! Don't forget!" He waved and ran to catch up with his father.  
  
Tooru turned back to the Soumas gathered on the doorstep. She glanced at Yuki and Kyou. Family? Yes they definitely felt like family to her. But... brothers?  
  
Tooru felt a strange ping at the center of her as she looked at the two boys. No, this feeling wasn't like brothers. She didn't understand what it was just yet, but it definitely wasn't a sibling feeling.  
  
"Tooru-kun." Shigure sing-songed, getting her attention again. "Since the curry was ruined, what are we going to do for dinner?"  
  
"Ah dinner!" Tooru gulped. She'd almost forgotten!  
*** 


	11. Misunderstandings

_Author's Note: Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I last updated this (or any of my other) stories. I'm sorry, it never feels like that long since I'm always writing little bits and pieces as I get a free moment, but when I look at when I last **posted** something I'm amazed. I like posting long chapters but I'll try posting a little more often. (Try being the operative word.) I want to thank everyone who's continued to review even though it's been so long. I'm amazed that you guys even find my fics, much less take the time to review. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. -Merrow_

The problem with causing trouble on a Monday was that there were still four more days of school to deal with afterwards, five if you counted the half-day they had on Saturday. They had four (or five) days of enduring stares, gossip, and speculation that fairly radiated from the students around them.

Kyou hunched his shoulders as he watched a pair of gossiping girls give sidelong looks to the couple in front of him. Tooru and Fujitsima walked together, the still bruised boy talking animatedly about some stupid TV show he'd watched the night before. Kyou glanced back at the girls at the drinking fountain. They whispered behind their hands, eyes sliding over to him. He felt his face crumple into a scowl and could practically feel ears flattening back on his head. The girls started and turned around quickly.

Kyou refocused on the back of Tooru's oblivious head. She didn't seem to notice the stares or the gossip. The cat's eyes narrowed as he spared a glance at Fujitsima. He noticed, but he ignored it for the most part and was trying to keep her too distracted to notice it too. At least the idiot honestly cared about her.

Kyou felt bile rise up in the back of his throat. It was sickening, the whole situation. And the worst part of it was-

"Did you see it, Kyou-kun? Wasn't it amazing? I swear he floated 3 inches off the ground!" Fujitsima turned walking backwards as he continued to chatter on about the TV program.

"I don't watch TV." Kyou said shortly, trying to ignore him. The worst part was that apparently getting into a fight together seemed to make the idiot, as the cat had taken to calling him in his head, think that they were friends.

"Then you missed it? Oh, but it was so cool. He's an American, and he did the most amazing things..." The idiot just kept jabbering away. Kyou pointedly looked away from him to study the walls as he was passing. It didn't faze the other boy a bit; he just turned his attention back to Tooru. "And the card tricks... it appeared on the other side of the glass!"

Tooru smiled and nodded seemingly absorbed in his nonsensical recount. Kyou didn't know how she could follow it; he didn't really seem to be making any sense.

"Do you have a VCR?" Kyou blinked, surprised at being addressed again. "I taped it, I could lend it to you." Fujitsima explained as they reached the doorway. Kyou tried to figure out the rudest way to say no, attempting in vain to give the over-eager boy the hint to go away.

Tooru smiled and waved, only half listening to the conversation between the two as she noticed Yuki standing by the door of the classroom. She jogged ahead a little of Kyou and Fujitsima. Yuki had classroom duties this morning and had had to get up earlier than normal. She'd gotten him up out of bed, but he hadn't fully woken, going through his whole morning routine in a sleepy zombie like state. She'd been a little worried to let him out of the house alone as she'd guided him out the door, but Kyou wouldn't let her walk him to school. Something about enough rumors flying around as it was.

She was relieved to see that Yuki had gotten to the school in one piece.

"Good Morning, Honda-san." Yuki smiled seeing her light up as she noticed him standing in the doorway. He'd found himself staring sleepily at the gate to the schoolyard and had a pretty good idea what had happened. He hoped he hadn't done anything too embarrassing this morning, when he was half asleep he didn't really have any control of what might come out of his mouth or his body's actions. It was very rare that Tooru ventured into his room to wake him up, but since Kyou wouldn't dare (or bother to worry when he got up) and Shigure refused after getting struck one too many times, she was the only one who would have.

He would have been more adamant about getting himself up, or at least not having Tooru wake him up but he seemed to be unable to. He'd managed it before she'd been living with them, but it seemed that now and then his body refused to. It didn't matter how many alarms he set, he'd simply shut them off in his sleep. Perhaps it was that he subconsciously wanted her to wake him up.

He colored slightly at the thought, but tried to dismiss it as Tooru's brow began to wrinkle in concern. He bent down to whisper conspiratorially in her ear. He darted a quick look around before moving a little closer before he spoke. He made sure that his whole body language practically shouted out 'I HAVE A SECRET'. It worked just as he planned, as most of the class was now watching he and Tooru.

"I'm sorry I caused Honda-san so much trouble this morning." He said softly, but not too soft for Fujitsima and Kyou to hear as they walked past them into the room.

"Oh, no." Tooru blushed prettily, making the girls in her class wonder angrily what the prince could be whispering so intimately in her ear. "Not at all."

"But still," Yuki repeated for effect, having noticed Fujitsima hovering just within earshot, "Asking a girl to come into a young man's room so early in the morning. I'm afraid I take too much advantage of Honda-san's good will..." He saw Fujitsima's eyes widen fractionally and hoped the other boy was drawing all the wrong conclusions.

"I was happy to help Yuki-kun." Tooru insisted.

"Eh-hem..." Both students jumped looking at their teacher standing just behind them in the doorway. "Don't you two think you should be sitting down? Class is starting."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Tooru said bowing and turning to head all the way into the classroom.

She started as Yuki put a hand to the small of her back and helped to guide her to her seat. She looked at him goggle-eyed, he'd never been this forward at school before.

"I'm sorry, Sensei." Yuki said pleasantly as he walked forward to his own seat. "I was just thanking Honda-san for a favor she did for me."

Tooru flushed bright red as she suddenly became the focus of all the students in her classroom. She couldn't help but shrink a little.

Kyou gritted his teeth angrily. What the hell? Yuki was practically shouting that there was some sort of relationship between him and Tooru. What did he think he was doing? It was just a couple days ago that she'd been practically accused of sleeping with him and Yuki. What did that asshole think he was doing stirring things up further?

Kyou glanced back at Fujitsima reflexively. The boy had his head down staring at the papers on his desk. Half the class was glancing between Tooru, Fujitsima, and Yuki like they were watching some sort of tennis match. Yuki looked calm and secure in his place at the center of the universe. Tooru was staring in shock at the back of his head. Fujitsima looked up longingly at her before sending a confused glance both at Yuki then at Kyou.

Kyou shrugged and looked forward again. What did the idiot think he knew about it? He gritted his teeth. The last thing Tooru needed right now was more rumors going on around her. What they all should do is back off and let things cool down. Instead Fujitsima hardly left Tooru's side outside of class, annoyingly enough. And now that damn rat was making like he was making a play for her. The gossip mills would be running overtime now.

What the hell? It's not like they, as Soumas, could do stuff that, could they? Like Shigure said, they didn't get to have those kinds of things... that was part of the friggin' curse wasn't it? Kyou could feel his blood boiling. The damn rat should leave Tooru alone for her own good, let Fujitsima court her and treat her like she ought to be treated. Let her have a normal life outside the cursed life of the Soumas.

His stomach clenched at what he was thinking. That meant she'd leave... He growled softly to himself, dammit, he didn't know if he could survive this mess. It felt like he was trying to tear out his own intestines. But dammit, she deserved better than either he or Yuki could give her so how could he do any different?

He glared at the back of Yuki's head. How could the damn rat be so SELFISH?

:0:0:0:

Yuki had a lot of experience schooling his expression into a blank, pleasant and unconcerned mask. You could say that he was a master at it. It was taking all of his mastery now to keep from looking back at the eyes he knew were trained on him. He could practically feel Kyo's burning gaze boring into his neck. He was pretty sure that Fujitsima had noticed something too. But best of all, he was sure that Tooru had seen something different in him too.

The mouse looked down at his notebook, idly making a little checkmark. Stage one was well underway. He gave a little sigh. He'd wanted to court Tooru properly. His plans hadn't been all that different from Fujitsima's. He'd thought that one day he'd confess to her all that she meant to him. That he'd be able to take her out on a true date and treat her to all the things she enjoyed.

His mouth twisted a little. But he'd been beaten to the punch and now Fujitsima had colored the water further with this stupid 'brothers' thing. Tooru hadn't protested the insinuation. Did she truly see him as just a 'family' member? A sibling?

That simply wouldn't do. Hence, stage one. He would make her see that he was just as much a potential suitor as that moron Fujitsima. By her blush before it seemed he was well on his way. And it accomplished the secondary goal of letting her supposed boyfriend know that he had competition.

He could hear hushed whispers at his back and made sure that his shoulders didn't hunch in reaction. He felt a little badly about the rumors that were bound to surface. She didn't deserve to be talked about that way. He'd been vaguely aware that the other girls in class occasionally gave Tooru a hard time about their friendship. He wasn't completely oblivious after all. But she'd never said anything about it, and he wasn't sure how to stop it without making it worse. But he'd never thought that the boys in the class were similarly petty.

He knew that they liked to match up Kyou with Uotani and tease the two about their supposed 'relationship'. And he'd even heard them teasing about Kyou's overprotective streak when it came to Tooru. He hadn't thought that they thought much beyond that. To think that they though he or Kyou were doing those sorts of things... with Tooru.

How could they possibly think...?

He wrote down the most complex math equation he could think of to take his mind off what the other boys in class evidently had thought he and Tooru (or Kyou and Tooru) had done together.

Once he'd prevented and flush from marring his features and his mind had calmed he continued on with his train of thought. Sadly, being more open about his feelings for Tooru only meant that those kind of rumors were going to get worse. If they were to enter into an official relationship perhaps he could protect her a bit better. He could be the one to beat in the faces of anyone who dared to say-

SNAP

He looked down at the pencil in his hand in dismay. Apparently he wasn't keeping as close a reign on himself as he thought he was. He calmly put the pencil on the edge of his desk for disposal and pulled out a pen. He clicked it on and looked to the board and paid attention to the lecture studiously hoping no one had noticed his little lapse in control.

There was no rise in the mutter of gossip in the room so he was pretty sure it had gone unnoticed by most.

:0:0:0:

Tooru watched Yuki put the pencil fragments down and fumble for a pen. She tried to concentrate on what the teacher was saying, but her thoughts were a little too full to let her. Yuki had been acting strange the past couple of days. She couldn't put her finger on it, he acted normal when they were alone. But as soon as there were other people around his whole attitude changed.

Perhaps I've done something to upset him, she thought drawing a little spiraling circle in her notebook. He smiled more now, and he was more polite... In fact he was being much more attentive to her then usual. But he wasn't being himself and made her heart ache like it was bruised. She'd always treasured the few times he'd truly smiled; it really transformed him into a completely different person. These past couple of days it was like he'd wrapped his heart back up inside himself and was hiding it away. She was sure he was forcing himself to act so nice and conscientious to her, that he was pretending. It made him feel very far away and out of reach, even though he only sat a few seats away from her.

What could have happened to make him so distant, she wondered. It had started about the same time that Fujitsima and Kyou had gotten into that fight. She chewed at her lip. Maybe that was it, what Fujitsima had said as he left that day, about Yuki and Kyou being like her brothers? She cared for them both, and Shigure too, very much but she'd never considered the Soumas as family in that way. Perhaps Yuki had been offended thinking that she considered herself family? After all, the Soumas were an old and important family, and she was... well, a nobody.

That must be it, Tooru thought to herself. She'd gotten rather comfortable in her life with the Soumas. Now it seemed that maybe she'd made herself too comfortable. That's probably what he really meant this morning, about me coming into his room, she decided. He was being polite, saying that he was imposing, but it's probably that she was imposing on him. After all what young man would like a girl who was really, when you thought about it, practically a stranger going into your room and waking you up?

She ducked her head, feeling her cheeks starting to burn all over again. But if she hadn't gone in and woken him up he would have been late... what else was she have supposed to have done?

"Aren't you going to eat lunch?"

Tooru started to see Fujitsima standing over her desk, his bento in hand, Kyou just behind him. She glanced at the clock and around the room. It was indeed time for lunch, and almost everyone else had turned their desks around and pulled out their lunches.

"Oh, oh yes of course." Tooru said pulling her box out from the desk. She smiled as Uo-chan and Hana-chan pulled their desks closer so they could all eat together. "I was just a little distracted I guess."

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Yuki smiling at her. That's not his real smile, she thought to herself, almost missing what he said.

"Would Honda-san mind moving over a little? My desk is too far to pull over, but you don't mind sharing do you?" He said indicating a chair he'd pulled up to be next to hers.

"N-n-not at all!" Tooru stuttered, moving her chair over to let him slide into place next to her. He was sitting so close that she could feel the warmth of his arm through the thin sleeve of her uniform.

Fujitsima started and glanced at Kyou, as if checking to see if someone had seen the same thing he had. But Kyou just scowled at Yuki before glancing around the classroom. Fujitsima did the same and flushed as he saw people avoid his gaze and turn to whispering to each other. He quickly found a chair and seated himself on the other side of Tooru.

"Everyday, I look forward to lunch." Yuki was saying now as he carefully unwrapped his own bento. "Shigure may be annoying but what he says about Honda-san's cooking is very true. Truly there isn't any better to be had."

Tooru dropped the morsel she had been about to bring up to her own mouth. The fact that she made lunch for both Yuki and Kyou had been something of a secret at school. It had been a tacit unspoken agreement that they wouldn't say anything to make people suspicious about how close they really were. Now he'd just said to everyone with in earshot that the lunch he ate everyday was made by her.

The whole group fell silent as they watched Yuki pluck up the little piece of food and drop it into his own mouth. "Not a scrap should be wasted." Yuki said still smiling.

Kyou was staring at the rat open mouthed. He could hear the collective level of murmurs in the room escalate at Yuki's unorthodox behavior. What the-?

"Aaaaah..." Hana-chan said softly, "Such wonderful vibrations. Such a treat to share them over a meal." She smiled, sparkles of electricity sparking around her.

"So, do you have to work today?" Uo-chan said looking at the three boys who surrounded a silent and nervous Tooru. "I was thinking maybe we could go shopping after school. We haven't done that in a while." Poor kid didn't understand anything that was going on around her.

"Ah, no," Tooru said jumping, shaking herself out of her stupor. "I mean, yes... I have to work today, so I can't go shopping."

"That's too bad." Fujitsima said, jumping in and trying to make conversation. "Honda-san has to work so hard."

"Oh, not at all." Tooru assured him. "I enjoy my work. It's not hard at all." She smiled.

"I was," Fujitsima stopped blushing, swallowed and then started again. "I was wondering if maybe I could walk you to work?"

"Oh!" Tooru waved a hand, "You don't have to do that, it's not far and its light out so it's very safe. It's very kind of you to offer."

Fujitsima gave a weak laugh, "I'm glad Honda-san thinks its safe, but really I just want an excuse to be able to spend time with Honda-san. You work so hard and have so little free time, I thought this way we could spend more time together."

"Oh." Tooru said blinking and her face feeling like it now had tattooed red stamp across her cheeks. "I suppose, if Fujitsima-san doesn't mind..." She trailed off, trying to hide her disquiet. Her walks to work were practically the only time she had to herself these days. She liked Fujitsima. He was a very nice person, and it made her feel good to know that someone like that was interested in her. But his constant attention was a little wearing.

"Not at all!" He grinned. He looked so happy to be simply able to walk her to work that Tooru couldn't regret giving up her little bit of freedom up. She completely missed the shuttered look that came over Yuki's face or how Kyou's scowl deepened.

:0:0:0:

Tooru sighed, wiping her brow and stacking the trash bag with the rest of the burnable trash. Her day was finally almost over. She felt like she hadn't done her best today. She was too distracted to focus.

Fujitsima had made a big deal out of walking her to work, he'd made a show of taking her book bag at the gate and taking her had. She flushed as they walked down the street, she wasn't used to this kind intimacy and it made her uncomfortable. She glanced at the boy at her side, he didn't seem to notice and such a simple thing seemed to make him so happy that she didn't want to ruin it for him.

"Honda-san." She'd started when he'd suddenly spoke.

She blinked up at him, wondering if she'd missed something. "Yes, Fujitsima-san?"

"I... I feel a little left out." Fujitsima seemed to be studying the sky, and he scratched at his nose.

"Left out?" She'd asked, the concern in her voice real.

"Soum-um.. Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun... you call them by their first names, but you still call me by my last name."

"Oh." Tooru said, feeling very uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if she was ready to call Fujitsima anything else but his last name. "Well, that is... Fujitsima-san also calls me by my last name..." She hedged. She felt a little cornered. It was...different...calling Kyou and Yuki by their names. It had seemed natural to do so.

"That's true." Fujitsima agreed.

There were silent for a little while, and Tooru became very conscious of how soft Fujitsima's hand in hers was. Kyou's hand was rough and callused, and Yuki's was thin and strong. Fujitsima's hand was a little clammy.

"I wonder..." The boy started and then trailed off. He seemed to gather his courage. "I wonder if Honda-san really understands how I feel."

Tooru remained silent unsure how she was supposed to respond to that. The boy beside her stopped and looked directly at her squeezing her hand.

"It isn't just that Honda-san calls Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun by their names..." Fujitsima said looking at her seriously. "Honda-san also smiles and talks with them. And you look happy when you see them...And..." He trailed off. "And Honda-san never looks like that at _me._"

Tooru blinked at the boy, what could she say to that? Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun were her friends, she felt comfortable around them. She knew that Yuki would help her with anything she needed help with and that Kyou-kun would always be there to listen to her. She didn't have to be self-conscious around them. Did she really smile differently and talk more around them?

"What does Honda-san think of me?" He asked softly.

"What do I think of...?" Her mouth went dry. "I... I think Fujitsima-san is a very nice person." She started off, her mind scrambling. "I think..." She tried to think of what she knew of him, but almost nothing came to mind. He was nice, and he was... "I think Fujitsima-san is a very, very nice person." She watched his face fall she knew she'd given him the wrong answer. She quickly continued, "Fujitsima-san is always watching out for others, and is always very truthful." She paused, watching emotions crossing his face. He was starting to look a little less crushed. "I think that Fujitsima-san is a very brave person."

"Brave?" Fujitsima's cheeks colored. "I'm not... I couldn't even win one fight."

"Oh no!" Tooru insisted, shaking her head. "Winning or losing doesn't matter at all! Even though Fujitsima-san isn't very strong, you fought those boys because you thought they were wrong to say those things." She looked to the side a thoughtful look on her face, "Even though Mother always said that people shouldn't fight...even though she used to..." She shook her head, "But anyway, it's not even that Fujitsima fought that makes him brave."

"It doesn't?" He said looking confused.

She shook her head. "No!" She smiled up at him, "What makes Fujitsima-san really brave is that he always says what is in his heart. That takes a lot of courage to always be honest with your feelings." Once the words were out of her mouth she realized how true they were.

In some ways he reminded her of her mother, always saying what people needed to hear. He always told her how he cared for her and enjoyed her smiles and her strength. He'd said so in his letters and in little comments he made when they did simple things like played cards and ate lunch. She felt a little guilty because she didn't think she was really being as honest with him as he was with her.

Fujitsima-san blushed and broke into a wide smile. "Well... Well... Gee!"

"Um..." Tooru said hesitantly, glancing at the watch on her wrist, "...work..."

"Oh! Right! I don't want to make you late!" Fujitsima said and tugged at her hand forcing her into a brisk jog. "Let's go!"

"Y-yes!" Tooru forced a smile and tried to keep up with his longer strides. Fujitsima seemed to be much happier now, and livelier, and she was glad she was able to make him smile. But her stomach felt a little unsettled and she felt guilty without really knowing why.

That feeling of guilt and unease stayed with her all through her shift at work. She felt like she had done something wrong. She felt like she was lying to Fujitsima, but everything she'd said was true. Why did she feel so unsettled? She sighed and went to get changed. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so out of sorts and pressured.

She paused at the glass doors of the building, looking out at the nighttime street. Yuki was waiting for her in his usual spot. She felt her lips droop into a frown. Usually she looked forward to the walk home with Yuki. Actually, it was one of her most favorite times of the day. They didn't talk much; usually they just walked in companionable silence. But that didn't matter; she just enjoyed spending time with him when he had all his masks off. He didn't have to worry that Shigure might tease him, or that anyone was watching, or about letting his guard down around Kyou.

She got to spend time with the _real_ Yuki, and that was what she treasured. Sometimes he'd get a little smile on his face that made her stomach flip-flop and made her feel light and exhilarated. It was a little smile that she, perhaps selfishly, had thought of as a smile that was just for her. Right now she was afraid that if she went outside she'd see that fake smile he'd given her at lunch. She was afraid she'd see his eyes shuttered and secretive like they had been when he'd whispered to her in the morning. She'd see a Yuki who was closed off and far away.

She watched as Yuki looked at his watch and gave a worried glance at the doors. She took a deep breath and straightened her back. She couldn't hide in here forever. She put on the best smile she could and pushed her way outside. She waved to him and he waited for her to jog across the street.

She looked up at him and a lump formed in her throat. He was smiling at her with that _fake_ smile. He took her bag and she jumped when she felt his hand settle on the small of her back as they walked.

"Honda-san was late tonight. It must have been a busy night." He said looking down at her, his smile constant. "Honda-san always works so hard." He looked away down the street.

Tooru looked up at him, and wondered what had gone wrong. She could tell he was forcing himself to make this mindless chatter. I must've done something to offend him, she thought to herself. She must've done something really dumb...because he was trying to be kind to her even though he was upset. What could I have done?

Yuki looked down again and frowned. He was trying everything he could think of to make Tooru see that he saw her as more than a sister. He'd been embarrassed, but he'd bought a few of those 'dating' magazines that showed what kind of things girls liked. He was doing just about everything they recommended, complimenting her on the things she did, showing that he appreciated her, smiling and paying attention. He tried to touch her more often, putting his hand at her back or pushing her hair back over shoulder. Perhaps he ought to buy her some gifts. He hadn't wanted to, because he knew she didn't like to be in debt to people. And also because any money he would've used to buy her things would have been Souma money he hadn't earned himself.

But now, since the other things didn't seem to be working, he was rethinking it. Even though he didn't like to use what he considered 'dirty money' that he received each month just for being cursed, maybe if he used it to buy her something useful it wouldn't be so bad. What could she use...? She didn't have much in the way of clothing, he recalled. Back on that horrible day when he'd gone with Kyou and taken her back from her grandfather's house, all of her belongings had fit into just two little shopping bags. Maybe he could buy her a new dress? Or some shoes, girls liked shoes didn't they?

Except, that Tooru didn't really act like other girls. It was one of the things he liked about her the most. He glanced at her again out of the corner of his eye. According to everything he'd read, she should be blushing and looking happy. She should react to his touch by moving closer, not away. She should relax around him, not get tense and look so...unhappy. Perhaps she really didn't think of him as anything but a brother? He had to make her think otherwise!

Tooru felt his hand on her back curl a little, his fingers digging into the cloth of her school uniform. She looked up and bit her lip. Yuki looked deep in thought, and worried. His face hadn't lost its bland happy look, but the skin around his mouth and eyes looked tight. She could see the path to the house just ahead. Soon they would be back inside with the watchful eyes of Shigure and Kyou.

She stopped walking, looking at her feet. Her heart was thudding and she swore she could hear her rushing blood in her ears. She couldn't take another day of this. She couldn't stand being around this distant Yuki who was trying so hard.

Yuki had stopped when she did, looking down at her in surprise. He waited for some explanation, but the silence stretched. "Did Honda-san forget something at work? If it's not very important, perhaps we should leave it for now... we're almost home and Honda-san had a very long day today."

"Is...Is Yuki-kun upset with me?" Tooru was a little ashamed of how small her voice sounded. She couldn't look up at him, she was too afraid. She kept her eyes on her worn shoes.

"Upset?" Yuki said, recoiling back, his hand finally leaving her back.

"Ever since... ever since last week Yuki-kun has been acting... different." Tooru forced the words out. She felt like she was probably just digging herself deeper into a hole. If she'd done something to upset him, he probably wouldn't admit it. He was too kind, so kind that he'd even be dishonest to try to protect her. But she had to know, and maybe if she asked now when there wasn't anyone to watch him be honest she could get the truth. "Did I do something to bother Yuki-kun?"

"Bother me?" Yuki repeated, wondering how he had gone so wrong. Just one short week of trying to be suave, charming and trying to attract her attention and it looked like he'd ruined 2 years of friendship. All he'd wanted to do was make her look at him in a new way, and all he'd accomplished was to make her think that he was mad at her? How could he have messed things up so badly?

"Honda-san hasn't-" He started.

"Please tell me!" Tooru interrupted, ashamed to feel tears forming in the back of her eyes. "I'm really sorry, whatever I did. If Yuki-kun would just tell me, then I could be sure not to do it again." She rubbed at her eyes trying to keep any tears from falling. If she did that Yuki would never tell her the truth. "Then Yuki wouldn't have to try so hard to be nice to me."

Yuki started dropping her bag in shock. She'd noticed? She noticed that he'd been trying to impress her? He'd tried to act natural during all of his efforts, but it must've been too obvious that he was acting against his nature. But she'd completely misinterpreted what he was trying to show her. She thought he was trying so hard because she'd upset him.

Tooru watched his face confused by the expressions she saw flickering behind his expressive eyes. He was so silent. She felt a sick sense of dread. He must be trying to think of some way to gently break what she had done to her. She must've done something really thoughtless and stupid.

"Honda-san." Tooru jumped as she felt his hands settle heavily on her shoulders. "You've completely misunderstood." She looked up and sucked in a deep breath. He was staring straight at her and all his masks were gone. He leaned forward a little more and touched his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. "I am not upset with Honda-san _at all._" He gave a little rueful smile. "If I'm upset with anyone, it's with myself."

He stood straight and backed a little away from her. "I've been acting very foolish this week."

"Yuki-kun?" Tooru said hesitantly.

"Honestly, Honda-san, I have been acting differently and I did hope that you would notice." Yuki looked at her and smiled, a real honest smile that felt like it shot through her like an arrow. "But I'm afraid I was trying too hard, and I didn't do a very good job at showing Honda-san what I wanted to."

Tooru felt her stomach flip-flop in an entirely pleasant way. She felt her lips start to tug up into a smile. "W-what did Yuki-kun want to show me?"

Unexpectedly, Yuki blushed, his face flaming red.

"Ah... well..." Yuki started, backing up a little.

Tooru stepped a little closer, clasping her hands behind her back and trying to peer up into his face through his bangs. She'd always thought of Yuki as very attractive person. But right now, with his cheeks stained with red and even his ears taking on a rosy hue he looked really, really cute. She hardly noticed that she was standing closer then she usually did, or that he'd stopped retreating to look at her with wide eyes. Her smile grew softer and she tilted her chin up-

"Oi!"

Yuki and Tooru both started, stepping back from each other and turning to look at Kyou who was staring at them suspiciously from the top of the path.

"What the heck is taking you two so long!" The cat bristled stalking towards them. "You were supposed to be back a half hour ago!"

"Ah!" Tooru waved her hand back and forth. "Oh, Sorry! Sorry! Work went late and then I'm afraid I was thinking something stupid and we were delayed."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Kyou said, not really that soothed. He'd been out of sorts all day, what with the Rat acting all weird and all. He had almost insisted that he go with Yuki to pick up Tooru, but he didn't want Shigure to tease or to hear what snide remark the Rat might come up with. And he certainly hadn't wanted to actually spend time with Yuki alone on the way to Tooru's work.

Instead he'd sat at home and counted every minute until they were supposed to be home. At fifteen minutes late he'd been concerned and a little angry, at thirty he'd been furious and very worried. He'd ignored Shigure's knowing look and stomped out to find out what was taking them so long. Then he found them like...like _that._

"Did Kyou-kun eat dinner?" Tooru asked as she passed him onto the path to the house. She smiled up at him and he swallowed the angry words he wanted to shout. That was the first time she'd looked genuinely happy in days.

"Yeah, I ate." He said ungraciously, turning to level an accusing look at Yuki. What had he done that made her all smiles again?

Yuki gave him a cool look back and slowly and deliberately picked up the bag he'd dropped. He was looking much too self-assured for Kyou's taste.

"Yo," He said deliberately staring at Yuki as he spoke following Tooru down the path. "Fujitsima called for you earlier."

"For me?" Tooru asked pausing on the threshold, her face falling.

"Yeah. He wants you to meet him tomorrow morning, he's got morning duties so he's going to be there early." Kyou shrugged, ignoring Yuki's stare boring into the back of his neck. "He said that if you couldn't come he'd understand, but that he wanted to say something to you." To say he'd been unhappy to talk to the idiot earlier was an understatement, but he was rather enjoying the look that was coming over Yuki's face now.

"Oh...ok..." Tooru said, her smile gone. "I'll be leaving early tomorrow then...I'll leave breakfast and your bentos on the table." She walked upstairs, the pep out of her step. Yuki pushed past Kyou and headed up to his room, his door closing with an audible bang.

Kyou frowned at her tone. He expected Yuki to be upset at the news Fujitsima had called, but he thought Tooru would like that the moron called. Didn't she like that jerk? That's why he didn't beat the crap out of him before now, because he thought he was doing the right thing for her. He hated the way that idiot fawned over her, but since she seemed to enjoy it.

He hated watching that guy with her though he didn't think about why too much. He'd thought that it was worth the pain of seeing them together because she at least had a chance of happiness that way. It was the kind of happiness that he knew he, or Yuki, couldn't give her. But if she wasn't happy...

Tooru came downstairs and gave Kyou a lukewarm smile. "I'm just going to get things ready for tomorrow, so it won't be such a rush." She walked into the kitchen.

Kyou followed her, still frowning. He leaned in the doorway and watched her take out their lunchboxes and set them out on the counter.

"Oi." He said finally, after watching her pick and choose from the cupboards things to eat and preparing the ricecooker for tomorrow. "You know, he said you didn't have to come. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Not go?" Tooru said blinking at him. She hadn't even considered it.

"Yeah." Kyou shrugged, trying to look casual. "I mean, he knows you work late so I'm sure he'd understand if you don't wanna." His eyes slid away from hers, "It's pretty rude actually, asking you to." It was the first time he'd come out and outright said something bad about the other boy and regretted it before the words left his mouth.

"Oh! No!" Tooru said shaking her head quickly. "I'm sure it must be something important or he wouldn't have asked. Fujitsima-san isn't rude."

"No." Kyou said, sounding petulant even to his own ears and hating it. "He's freakin' perfect I suppose."

"No." Tooru said looking at the back of a box of raisins as if it held the answers to all his questions, "He's not perfect, I'm just sure he wouldn't ask me to come early if he didn't have a good reason."

He watched her finish up and smile at him as she passed him. "If I don't see Kyou-kun tomorrow, please, have a good morning. I'll be going to bed now."

Kyou frowned and let her reach her door before he went up to his own room.

:0:0:0:

The next morning Tooru frowned at her alarm as it went off earlier then normal. She sighed heavily and pushed back the covers. She felt bad for feeling disgruntled and upset at having to meet Fujitsima. He was such a _nice_ person. Surely it was rude on her part that she didn't seem to want to spend as much time with him as he wanted to with her? It must be some character flaw that she should overcome.

She wandered down the hall and washed her face. It wasn't his fault that she felt guilty and out of sorts when he was around. All he ever did was be nice to her. I should be thankful, she thought to herself, that such a good person thinks I'm worth being around.

She gave herself a determined stare in the mirror and tried to think what her mother would recommend in this situation. But the inner voice of her mother was silent. She sighed again and decided that she was just tired. "I'll go to bed early tonight, and tomorrow will be much better."

She quickly got dressed and headed down the stairs trying to pep herself up as she went. Today there was no PE, which was a good thing. Today was Home EC, which was a good thing because she was good at it and the girls had it without the boys. The sun was shining, and it looked like it would be a lovely day. She didn't have work tonight so she could rest tonight and get caught up on her homework.

"Oi. Breakfast is ready."

Tooru stopped dead at the bottom of the stairs blinking at the unexpected sight of Kyou standing in the doorway with a frying pan in his hand. A light dusting of red colored his cheeks.

"Sit down and eat. I woke up early so I made breakfast." Tooru was speechless as he dumped a pair of sunny-side up eggs on a plate sitting on the table. "Argh!" He glanced at the kitchen, "The toast is burning."

Tooru sat at the table staring at the eggs. Kyou came in and plunked a couple of pieces of slightly burnt toast on the edge of the plate and a glass of juice in reach. She looked up at him.

"Go on and eat. I ate the breakfast you made. The damn dog and rat will have plenty when they wake up. I just thought you might like something different."

Tooru looked at the eggs and then back at Kyou. "This is really for me?"

Kyou nodded, "Whatdya think, I made 'em just to look at. Eat up, you don't eat enough that's why you're always getting sick."

"Yes!" Tooru replied and started in on the eggs. "I didn't know that Kyou-kun could make eggs."

"Did you think I could only make curry?" Kyou snorted. "It's not like Shishou was any good at that sort of thing, so I made all the meals. Of course I know how to make breakfast too."

"Oh!" Tooru said nibbling on the toast. "I suppose I didn't think." She smiled up at him. "How stupid of me."

"Dummy." Kyou agreed. He looked out into the backyard. Tooru took the opportunity to study his profile. He really was all sharp edges, even his hair seemed to bristle out in points, especially when he got mad. But despite it he was one of the most comfortable people to be around, she decided. There was never any pressure being with him. Even now that she was sitting and eating the breakfast he made. She smiled a little to herself.

Today was a good day because Kyou-kun made her breakfast and sat with her while she ate it. She'd try to remember that later on and maybe the day wouldn't be as trying as she expected it to be.

"Thank you." She said softly. "It was very good."

"Done?" Kyou started to reach for her plate.

"Oh, no, let me at least wash the dishes." Tooru protested and she smiled again as Kyou's hand dropped. He always knew when not to protest.

"I'll dry," was his only concession. She nodded and led the way into the kitchen. Kyou was a tidy cook, there was only a few things that needed cleaning. It was nice standing side by side with him and he took the plates she washed.

It was times like these that she really enjoyed living in the Souma household and when she really felt like she belonged.

"I was thinking-" Kyou started, then restarted. "I'll walk with you to school."

"Oh..." Tooru said, thinking that she should probably refuse for some reason. She didn't know why, but taking Kyou with her to meet with Fujitsima seemed wrong.

"Because, well, I'm up and it's not like I have anything better to do." He insisted. "And I don't want to hang around with the damn Rat and Dog or anything."

"Well, of course." Tooru smiled, sad that her happy feeling was already starting to fade. "I'd be happy to walk with Kyou-kun!" And she was sure she'd enjoy the walk. She just didn't know what would happen once they arrived.

:0:0:0:


	12. Chapter 12

_Okay, so this write at work thing is really working to get me writing more often. Here is another double update! I'm actually going to keep with this story, because I'm really close to finishing. – Merrow _

It was an achingly beautiful day out. The sun was up and there were just enough clouds to make it comfortable to look up into the blue sky. It had progressed into real spring while they'd all been distracted. The trees were filled with green and blossoms. A slight wind kicked through the neighborhood, scattering petals and sweet spring scents.

Kyou walked a pace behind Tooru watching her hair flip back and forth in the slight breeze. A petal had got caught up in it about two streets back and was now thoroughly tangled in her thick hair. He restrained the urge to pluck it out. Barely.

"The weather is nice today." He said, and watched her flinch. It wasn't unusual for them to walk to school in silence, but usually the air between them didn't wear so heavy.

Tooru looked up and around like she just noticed they were outside. "It's beautiful." She said softly, she slowed a pace so they were walking side by side. "So, Kyou-kun does like spring?"

"When it's not raining."

She nodded and smiled. "Yes... I understand Kyou-kun's dislike for the rain." She looked back up into the treetops. "Summer is my favorite, but I like the flowers in spring. Mother used to say flowers are new beginnings."

Kyou peeked to the side. She'd collected more petals. One in her bangs and another working it's way into the hair just behind her ear. The temptation to run his fingers through her hair to cull them out was intense.

"This Sunday," he started awkwardly. "Do you want to come to Shishou's? He asks about you every time I go, and you haven't been for a while. For dinner."

"I'd love to!" She clapped her hands, "I haven't seen Shishou-san in a while!"

"Um... We'd better bring food..." Kyou blushed, "Shishou will try to make something, but he always burns it and I know he doesn't keep enough food in the house. If you don't mind."

"No, it will be fun to cook with Kyou-kun again." Tooru beamed at him, another petal catching in her hair. "I'll look forward to it!"

"You're a mess!" Kyou said stopping, "Here. Stand still." She turned to face him and he flicked his hands through her hair, dislodging the petals and tossing them aside. He maybe let his fingers run through her hair a little bit more then necessary, checking for petals that might have snuck past him. "There all done." He said smoothing her hair and tucking it back past her ears.

She grinned at him, her cheeks dusted with pink. "Thank you, Kyou-kun!" Her fingers traced where his had been.

Kyou nodded. The school was coming into view. The soccer club was taking advantage of the nice weather to have their early morning practice out of the yard. Their noise and shouts added to the pleasant atmosphere.

But it was lost on Tooru and Kyou as they walked into the building. Kyou's neck was so tight it felt like it was in a vise. He tried to loosen it up by stretching his head from side to side, like he was preparing for a fight. Tooru was trying very hard to keep from hunching her shoulders. She straightened her spine, forcing them down.

The sign for 2-D came into view and she swallowed. She glanced at Kyou, she still felt funny about him coming with her this morning but she was glad he was there.

She took a deep breath as she put her hand on the door. "Good morning!" She said as she opened it.

"Honda-san!" Fujitsima stood at the podium laying out the class journal. "I was hoping you'd be able to come." He grinned, and then his face fell as he realized who stood at her shoulder. "Kyou-kun came too?"

"I'm not going to hang out at the house with that damn guy." Kyou blustered and pushed past Tooru to throw his bag down on his desk. He sat down and stared resolutely out of the window.

"That guy?" Fujitsima said looking between Tooru and Kyou.

"Ah, oh, um..." Tooru fiddled with the handle of her bag. "Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun... that is to say... their relationship..."

"I don't have no kind of relationship with that damn rat!" Kyou-kun spat, "If I could make it so we weren't related I would!"

"They don't get along?" Fujitsima coughed.

"Something like that." Tooru smiled, "Fujitsima-san wanted to talk...?"

"Oh, uh..." Fujitsima glanced at Kyou. "Um... I have to pick up printouts from the teacher's office, why doesn't Honda-san walk with me?"

"Okay." Tooru put her bag on her desk and shot a smile at Kyou before turning to follow Fujitsima.

Kyou watched her go and pulled at his lip trying not to think about what that idiot wanted to talk about without him around.

:0:0:

"It's a nice day today, isn't it?" Tooru said awkwardly. "I'm glad it's finally getting warmer."

"It'll be raining soon though." Fujitsima said. "Um...Honda-san..."

"Yes?" Tooru watched him fidget. She clasped her hands behind her back to try to keep herself from following suit.

"Do you think it's a good idea to walk to school with Souma-kun and Kyou-kun?"

Tooru blinked at him. Her head had been crowded this morning with what Fujitsima might want to say to her. That hadn't even been on the list.

"Eh?"

"Um... well..." Fujitsima's cheeks went pink. "It's just that..." He looked at he ceiling, the floor, the posters in the hallway, anywhere but at her. "Well, it just might not be a good idea."

Tooru's brow wrinkled, thoroughly confused. "Eh?"

"Never mind." He sighed. "Anyway... I was wondering... I still owe you dinner, and..."

"Oh, Fujitsima-san doesn't owe me-"

"Honda-san will you go on another date with me?" Fujitsima said in a rush, interrupting her. They stood outside the teacher's lounge. They both jumped when the door opened.

"Are you here for 2-D's print outs?" The teacer looked between them. "You're the last ones, hurry up."

"Yes, Sensei!" They chorused and quickly picked up their stacks.

They were halfway back when Fujitsima finally coughed and said, "So, um...?"

"Oh, um..." Tooru responded. Go on another date? The first one had been... nerve-wracking. She knew him better now, so it shouldn't be so bad. But still, something made her feel strange for even thinking about it. "I'd... I'd have to ask."

"Ask? Your grandfather?" Fujitsima's eyebrows came together. "Is he that old-fashioned? I mean, I wouldn't think so with him letting you live with-"

Tooru looked at him with big eyes. There were other students in the hall, he wasn't actually going to say-

"Um... you know." Fujitsima finished lamely, noticing her panic last minute. "Uh, sorry."

"That's okay." Tooru said, trying to calm her heart. She paused, and then said, "No, Grandfather doesn't mind that sort of thing..." At least she supposed he didn't, she'd never even thought of asking.

"Then who...?" He looked and sounded hurt.

"Ano... Shigure-san..." She looked at him, already feeling guilty. He looked so disappointed, like puppy who'd had his favorite toy taken away. "The cooking, for dinner, I usually do it, so if I'm going to go out..."

"Oh..." Fujitsima said, looking surprised. "I hadn't thought of that." He chewed his lip a little. "Well, it's not like he'll say no, right?"

"Ummn..." She couldn't imagine Shigure saying no. But she felt terrible for asking, there were already so many nights she wasn't there to cook because of work already. Half the time they ended up eating out, which she hated. "No, probably not..."

"Then how about you ask him about Thursday night?" Fujitsima smiled.

"Oh, but work..." Tooru said. "Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays are my part-time job days."

"Oh." Fujitsima deflated a little. "And you can't miss...?"

Tooru looked down feeling guilty. She had missed work before, to spend time with friends. "Well, school tuition is due soon..." She babbled, her cheeks burning. She had the money to pay her tuition already, but she preferred to have a little extra, just in case.

The boy blinked, and his brow furrowed. "Doesn't Shigure-san help with that kind of thing?"

"Oh no!" Tooru said immediately, shocked. "I could never ask for anything like that! He's done so much for me. I wouldn't have a place to live, or food, or... " She waved a hand. "Shigure-san bought me a bed, even."

"A bed?" Fujitsima looked confused. "But your Grandfather-"

"Grandfather lives on his pension," Tooru said softly. "I couldn't ask him to..."

"Ah, well, then..." Fujitsima said, finally getting a clue that this was making her uncomfortable. "So Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the days when you are free."

"Um... Wednesdays..." Tooru began, hesitantly. She'd never seen Fujitsima look so obviously upset. "Yuki-kun has student council and comes home late, so dinner, I'd like to make it otherwise Yuki-kun will eat take out." He just stared at her. "That's not healthy! And Yuki-kun works so hard..."

"So Friday, Sat-" Fujitsima started. He stopped when he saw her bite her lip. "What?"

"Saturday I do laundry and chores around the house, and homework." Tooru said, shrinking into her pile of printouts. "And Sunday, Kyou-kun and I were going to go see Shishou-san... his father."

"So Friday, Friday you're free, right?" Fujitsima asked desperately.

"I'd have to ask-"

"Shigure-san." Fujitsima sighed, stopping as they reached the door of their classroom.

"Yes." Tooru said at the papers in her hands. Fujitsima was usually very laid back, but he seemed so agitated this morning. She could tell she'd upset him, and she felt horrible for it. He was so nice and considerate and all he wanted from her was some time.

"But," Fujitsima said, brightening. "He'll probably say yes, right?"

"Probably." Tooru nodded.

"Then, this Friday, if Shigure-san says it's ok, will you go out with me?"

"Ooooo, it's definitely spring time!" Tooru and Fujitsima looked to see the several students twittering and whispering inside the classroom. A couple of boys, friends of Fujistima, walked over. "Way to go, Studly."

"C'mon, guys, stop teasing." Fujitsima said flushing red. "Honda-san, I'll take the rest of the print outs."

Tooru handed him the papers; her own cheeks uncomfortably warm. The boys nudged each other.

"So you guys are going on another date?" One of the girls in their class asked, her smile causing her to dimple.

"If Honda-san can get permission." Maseo nodded, ignoring that Tooru hadn't actually said yes.

"Ooooh, when?" She asked walking up next to one of Fujitsima's friends. She looked between Tooru and Fujitsima expectantly.

"Friday, we were thinking." Maseo put the papers on the teacher's desk and walked back over to the cluster.

"Oh! Oh! Maseo-kun and Tooru-kun should come with us!" The girl said clapping. "After school on Friday we're going to view the cherry blossoms. Couples only!"

"Aaah!" Maseo pointed between the two, "Hisae-chan and Akira-kun are dating?

"Un!" Hisae nodded. "Two weeks now." The boy scratched the back of his head and blushed. She looked at Tooru, "It'll be fun, we girls are going to make box dinners and we'll all eat together." Hisae looked back over at Fujitsima, "C'mon, Maseo-kun, you always hang out with Tooru-kun's friends, we never get to see you anymore."

Tooru immediately felt guilty. She'd been wishing for a little more time to herself, she hadn't even thought that Fujitsima was taking time away from his other friends to spend with her. "I don't mind... if I can get permission." She qualified. It did sound like fun more fun then just pairing up alone. She'd never been on a group date before. It would probably be more relaxing; at least there would be more people to talk to. "What kind of food does Fujitsima-san like?"

"But I still owe Honda-san dinner." Fujitsima protested.

"I like cooking." Tooru flushed. She really wished he would stop saying he "owed" her. "I don't mind really."

"So formal!" Akira said teasingly, "Honda-san, Fujitsima-san. You two have already been on one date, you should act a little closer."

"Yes, yes!" Hisae agreed. "I mean, Maseo-kun calls me Hisae-chan, he should at least call the girl he's dating by her first name."

Both Tooru and Maseo blushed and glanced at each other. Fujitsima had already brought this up before, he obviously wanted to be more informal but Tooru felt uncomfortable. "Umn... Ano... That is..." She stuttered.

"Class is starting soon." Yuki stood by his desk and looked at the group coolly. "Everyone, please take your seats." He addressed the class as a whole, but was looking at Fujitsima and company as he spoke.

As the all moved to obey Tooru wondered when he arrived. He didn't look pleased at all. Had he woken up late? He always felt out of sorts if he did. She hoped he had a chance to eat breakfast. She looked at him worriedly.

Class started and Kyou watched Tooru, clenching and unclenching his hands. She hadn't even looked at him once, not since she'd come back. He'd heard the conversation between the Idiot's friends and her. So the Idiot had wanted her alone to ask her for a date. That was a pretty crappy reason to get someone to come in early, he thought. Stupid cherry blossoms, he knew they were trouble, but at least they wouldn't be alone if they went out. Who did she need to get permission from?

Yuki resisted the urge to turn and look at Tooru. He'd been upset when he'd woken and found both the baka neko and Tooru gone. A note on the table explained where she'd gone. He'd wanted to wake up early and go with her, but as usually his body didn't listen to him about that kind of thing. He'd eaten breakfast alone. Shigure hadn't stirred. He hadn't had to do that in a long time, he'd forgotten how much he hated it. He would've skipped the meal altogether if Tooru wouldn't have been upset when she saw the leftovers. Then he'd come in to see her standing with that guy and talking about making plans for Friday. He'd been able to restrain himself until he heard them try to pressure Tooru into calling that guy by his first name.

She'd gone so red and flustered; he couldn't help but intervene. He could tell she didn't want to. It made him feel a little soothed since she could say his name easily and hadn't seemed to have any trouble right from the first time she'd called him by it.

"Souma Yuki."

Yuki looked up at the teacher, wondering what he'd missed.

"Please read from line 133. I shouldn't have to remind the student council president to pay attention in class."

Yuki stood and held his book out, cursing his fair skin and the red blush marring his cheeks. "Yes, Sensei. Sorry, Sensei."

"I suppose even student council presidents are effected by spring," the teacher smiled. "Now please begin."

Yuki read the paragraph and sat down, ignoring the sniggers behind his back. Today was shaping up to be a rather unpleasant day.

:0:0:

Tooru was distracted from staring at Yuki's back when a little piece of paper materialized by her hand. It was folded in the complicated way notes from teenagers were. She picked it up and put it in her lap. She glanced around, the note couldn't have been from Uo-chan or Hana-chan, they knew how easy it was to unnerve her in class. Yuki-kun or Kyou-kun wouldn't do anything like that either. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Hisae, glanced at the teacher to make sure he wasn't looking her way, and then gave a little wave. The note was from her.

Tooru unwrapped it, feeling like the teacher was going to come and catch her any minute. Hana-chan looked back at her with a slight frown. She glanced at the paper in her hand. _Eat lunch with us today, we'll talk about Friday._ She looked back up at Hisae who gave her a secretive thumbs up and a grin.

She looked back at the note. She and Hisae had been classmates for years, much like she and Fujitsima had. She couldn't recall ever speaking to Hisae, other then in passing. She was a short, cute girl with a curly bob. She claimed it was natural but everyone knew she had a perm. Tooru wasn't able to call up much other information, except she thought she might be on the volleyball team despite her small size. She was pretty sure she'd spoken more often to Mitsuwa Akira, her boyfriend, who liked to tease Kyou and anyone else he could get a rise out of. Tooru hadn't eaten lunch with anyone other then Uo-chan and Hana-chan since middle school.

And if she ate with Hisae, Mitsuwa and Fujitsima she wouldn't get a chance to talk to Yuki at all today. She pretended to look forward at the teacher, but really studied his back. He was acting so distracted today, she wondered if he was feeling well. He was such a hard worker, that she knew he'd come to school even if he was getting a fever. She had her part-time job after school, so she wouldn't see him until he came to walk her home. She twisted the note between her fingers. Her stomach was knotting, and she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to eat lunch either way.

When lunch finally came around she stood at her desk unsure of what to do. Uo-chan and Hana-chan moved towards her, and Yuki and Kyou, but Hisae got there first.

"Tooru-chan is going to eat lunch with us today." She said cheerfully, linking her arm with Tooru's. "It's really nice out today, why don't we eat outside by the fence?"

"Um." Tooru said looking at her friends. "Why don't we all eat together?" She looked between Hisae and the others, all clumped up together. "If that's okay?"

Hisae looked a little doubtful. "If they don't mind us making plans in front of them for Friday, I don't mind."

"Whatever." Kyou said, looking like he did mind. "Lets just go eat. I'm hungry."

They all left as a group and settled on the soft grass by the fence.

"So our Tooru is going on another date, eh?" Uo-chan looked at Maseo. "Gutsy, taking her out with out asking permission."

"I'll be forgotten." Hanajima said, looking blank faced into her bento. "Tooru-chan will forget to call, and I'll be left alone."

"You sound like an in-law." Uo said, "Like you're her mother."

"Oh, no, I'm sure Kyoko-san would have been much scarier then I with a suitor for Tooru-chan." Hana disagreed. "She probably would have set trials, like walking on glass, or through fire."

"Maybe nothing that bad, but in her place, we'll have to do it instead."  
Uo-chan looked at Maseo. "We made a promise to Kyoko-san to look after Tooru, so don't think you can get by without asking us for permission and that you have to answer to us if you hurt her."

"Ha-ha-ha." Fujitsima laughed easily, completely missing their very real menace. "I'll keep that in mind."

Tooru laughed weakly. It was awkward to have people sit around and discuss you while you sat right there.

"So," Hisae said, looking a little nervous, "Friday! It still gets dark early, so I say we leave right after school!"

"Which park are we going to?" Fujitsima asked, sipping from a juice box. "One within walking distance?"

"I thought the one over by Fujiwara bakery. We could stop and get some sticky buns." Hisae's dimples deepened.

"You just want the sticky buns." Akira laughed. Hisae pouted at him and he put his hands up in mock surrender. "That's fine by me. That's not far from here at all."

"So, we'll have to make dinner the night before or that morning. We'd planned to all share. Miki and Akane are coming too, Akane makes great sausages, so that's what she's going to bring. I was going to do sandwiches. Croquettes!" Hisae ticked the different things they were going to make off on her fingers. "I figure all three of us bring tea." She dimpled again, "Because of our class cafe I know Tooru-chan makes great onigiri, why don't you bring that?"

"For six people?" Tooru asked, trying to think if they had enough rice. She'd have to buy more either way, since it wasn't fair to use the rice Shigure paid for to make onigiri for a group date. Did she have enough money this month to cover it?

"Honda-san has to work the night before, doesn't she?" Yuki asked, nibbling at his lunch. "Will you have time to make all that?"

Her brow puckered, she hadn't thought of that. "If I get up early..."

"You're working till eleven!" Kyou said crossing his arms. "You're gonna make yourself sick if you do that."

Hisae looked between the two boys. "I didn't realize..." She wagged her hands to calm them down.

"How does Kyou-kun know that she gets off at eleven?" Akira asked suddenly. He broke into a wicked grin, "Maybe Honda and Kyou have a special relationship?" He winked at Tooru and watched her blush.

"Quit spreading rumors! You're not funny." Kyou said huffily. "Unlike some people," he glanced at Fujitsima, "I listen when people talk. She always gets off at eleven on Thursdays."

"It's just Honda-san and her Grandfather." Yuki explained, picking at his food, the lie coming easily. "On the days she works she has to make breakfast and lunch and dinner all the same time for both of them. And if she goes out the next day, she has to do it again. It would be hard to do all that and make onigiri too. I'm afraid we took too much  
advantage of Honda-san when we had our school festival."

"Ah!" Fujitsima said, tapping the bottom of his fist into his palm. "I know, I'll buy the onigiri!" He grinned at Tooru. "I owe Honda-san dinner anyway, so I'll buy onigiri for everyone!" He looked at Akira and Hisae. "I know it's not as good, but at least it's something right?"

"That's fine! That's fine!" Hisae was quick to agree. She looked apologetically at Tooru. "I just didn't realize..." She tried not to glance at the Souma boys. They were intimidating just being themselves. She got the distinct feeling that both of them were mad at her, which was even more unnerving. Especially when that redhead looked at you with those weird crimson eyes. What nationality could he possibly be mixed with that gave those color eyes?

"Oh, no!" Tooru waved her hands quickly. "I really wouldn't have minded, if it was any other day..."

"It's hard to schedule in time!" Fujitsima laughed, trying obviously to lighten the mood. "Honda-san is always working or doing something for her...er... family." He stumbled over the last bit, glancing at Yuki and Kyou. "She practically has no free time at all."

"That's no fun!" Hisae said, slapping lightly at Tooru's knee. "You're young, you should be having fun now. You should quit your part-time job."

"Oh, but I couldn't!" Tooru said, "Tuition and other expenses..."

"Expenses? Honda-san talks like an old lady." Akira said teasingly. "She's so old-fashioned."

"Yeah, like what's with still calling Maseo-kun by his last name?" Hisae latched on to the change of subject. "But, then, you don't even call Arisa-san or Saki-san by their first names do you?" She said, "And you've been friends for years. Why is that?"

"I think it's cute," Yuki said suddenly, "Honda-san's speech." He picked out a few vegetables from his box. "Your Grandfather said you speak like your father, didn't he?"

"That's what he said, and Mother said that father used to speak very formally." Tooru nodded, blushing at the compliment. Yuki said she was cute, in front of all these people! The casual compliment took her completely off-guard, and even though she liked it, it made her worry about him more. He never said that kind of thing in front of other people.

It seemed to have unnerved the whole group. There was a moment of silence. Fujitsima was staring at Yuki, his brows furrowed. Hana-chan smiled and continued to eat her lunch, leaning a little towards the mouse as if basking in invisible rays. Hisae's mouth gaped open, the gregarious girl taken completely by surprise. Akira was caught mid-munch, a sandwich forgotten in his mouth. Kyou was glaring at Yuki and Uo-chan was watching as if it was the best sport ever.

"Um...ah..." Hisae stumbled. "So...how did you start to call your friends by their nicknames?"

"Oh, Mother decided on Uo-chan's the first time they met." Tooru said, eager to move past the awkward moment.

"Yeah, then it was Uo-chan, Uo-chan." Uotani waved a hand, "Never mind if I liked it or not."

"Uo-chan doesn't like it?" Tooru said anxiously.

"No, no, it's fine." She patted Tooru's head like a puppy.

"If she didn't like it, she wouldn't have decided that I would be Hana-chan the first time we met." Hana-chan said, opening a small bag of chips and delicately plucking one out. "As she said "going by mother's standard" I would be Hana-chan."

"Oh, then..." Hisae grinned, "If we went by Tooru-chan's Mother's standard, Fujitsima would be Fuji-kun! No! No! Fuji-san, that's what Tooru-chan should call him!"

"Fuji-san?" Fujitsima rolled it around. "It feels like you're referring to the mountain instead of a person."

"That's appropriate then, isn't it. It's fish, "Uo", flower, "Hana", and the mountain, "Fuji"!" Hisae clapped, proud of herself. She turned to Tooru and commanded cheerfully, "Try it out!"

"Umn... Fuji...san?" She said awkwardly. She glanced at Fujitsima out of the corner of her eye.

Fujitsima blushed bright red.

"See, much better then "Fujitsima."" Hisae grinned. "Don't you think so?"

"I...uh, like it." Fujitsima said. He had a goofy grin on his face.

Tooru bit her lip and looked into her mostly untouched lunchbox. It seemed awfully intimate to call someone by a nickname like that. But it obviously made him happy, and she supposed she'd get used to it.

"Oi! Eat your lunch." Kyou interrupted suddenly, jabbing his chopsticks at her. "You're working tonight, and lunch is almost over."

"Oh, yes! Ok." She said and plucked up a small piece of egg and began eating.

"Kyou-kun is like a mother hen." Akira teased. "You're going to make your girlfriend jealous fussing over Honda like that."

"What girlfriend?" Kyou said sitting up straight.

Akira looked deceptively innocent, wagging his chopsticks between Uotani and Kyou. "Eh? But you two have such a good relationship, like a married couple, I just assumed-"

"You assumed wrong!" Kyou shouted. "Like I'd date that Yankee!"

"Like I'd let you, Orange head!" Uotani shouted back, she turned to Akira, "How could you think I'd be interested in a stupid guy like him?"

"What an interesting variety of vibrations today." Hana-chan commented idly, packing up her finished lunch. "We should do this more often."

"It seems a little noisy to me." Yuki commented, still picking at his lunch, trying to ignore the fight going on beside him. He really disliked the idea of Tooru calling Fujitsima a cute nickname.

"Is Yuki-kun not feeling well?" Tooru asked, her chopsticks pausing. "You haven't eaten very much. Isn't it good?" She looked worriedly back and forth between her lunch box and his. She'd made them the same thing, and hers tasted fine but that didn't mean something hadn't gone wrong when she put his together.

"No, it's fine." He glanced at Hisae and Akira. He'd already let it be known in class that Tooru made his lunch, but it hadn't been really picked up by the rumor mill. He'd planned to let it drop. "I suppose I'm a little tired today."

"Yuki-kun isn't getting a cold, is he?" Tooru wanted to lean forward and test his forehead. He always ate less when he was getting sick. But she was afraid of Akira; she knew Yuki hated being teased.

"No." Yuki gave her a little smile, her concern brightening his mood just a little bit. "I'm fine, really. Thank you for being concerned."

"You are acting a little strange today, Prince." Uotani said, finally finishing her fight with Kyou by ignoring him. "You're not your regular perfect self."

"Oh." Yuki said, closing up his lunch box and standing. "Sorry for not being perfect." His mood plummeted back down. Was he being that obviously upset? Could they tell that he was so jealous he could break something? "I'm going to go back ahead."

"O-ok." Tooru said, following him with her eyes as he walked stiffly back to the building. She wondered if she could sneak a moment with him later on and tell him not to come pick her up from work. He was obviously not feeling well and should rest.

"Wow, so that's Prince Yuki." Hisae said, "I'd always heard he was polite and kind, but he's kind of different in person, isn't he?"

"Yuki-kun is polite and kind." Tooru said, tensing at the implication that he wasn't. Yuki was one of the sweetest, kindest people she knew.

"The Prince ain't bad, once you get to know him." Uotani agreed, finishing up her sandwich. "He's an okay guy."

"But he seems so cold and intimidating." Hisae carefully reassembled her bento box and retied her napkin around it. "I don't know how you ever got to be friends with him, Tooru-chan. I'd be too afraid to talk to him. I don't think he likes other people very much. At least not regular people."

"He seems to like Honda okay." Akira grinned. "He thinks she's cuuuute." He drawled out the last word, enjoying the flustered look Tooru got.

Hisae giggled, "I know, that surprised me!"

"Why?" Hanajima asked, sparks cracking around her. "Tooru-chan is cute."

Akira and Hisae exchanged nervous looks. "Of course she is!" Hisae said, "Its just surprising to hear Prince Yuki say that."

Her boyfriend cleared his throat, unable to miss an opportunity to tease. "Could it be..." He said hesitantly, "That Hanajima likes Prince Yuki?"

Hanajima blinked at him in surprise, and seemed to consider the question, turning it over in her mind. "I..." she said slowly. "Have gained a respect for him, since coming to know him. I consider him a friend." She sounded surprised by her own conclusion. "I do not have romantic leanings towards him." She clarified. She didn't blush, fluster or get angry.

"Oh." Akira said, disappointed and a little relieved.

Kyou stood, "Class is gonna start soon. We should get back." He looked down at Tooru's bento, still half-eaten. "Dummy, you didn't finish."

She closed it up and stood, giving him a weak smile. "I had plenty."

"I'll walk you to work today." Fujitsima said, stepping close to her as if claiming a right. "We'll get a snack on the way, so you'll have plenty of energy for work."

"Thank you, Fuji...san" Tooru stumbled over the new nickname, feeling awkward. "But that's okay, I brought a dinner with me today too. I'll be fine."

"We better get back." Uo-chan brushed her skirt off and started off, Hana-chan following.

Kyou glanced at Tooru and Fujitsima before starting back reluctantly. Hisae squeezed between them and linked arms with Tooru. "We didn't get much of a chance to talk, lets you and I walk back together." She grinned impishly at Akira and Fujitsima. "You guys talk about... guy stuff."

"Yes, Dear." Akira grinned. "I'll give Fuji-san some dating tips."

"Cut it out!" Fujitsima blushed, "It's not cute when you say it."

"But it's cute when Honda says it?" Akira teased, running ahead a little making Fujitsima chase him.

"So, when will you know for sure that you're coming on Friday?" Hisae said, taking back Tooru's attention.

"Um... I'll ask tonight." Tooru said, "So tomorrow..."

"Is your grandfather likely to say no?" Hisae asked.

"Oh, no... that is..." Tooru didn't correct her assumption. "I shouldn't have a problem, it's only that I usually cook..."

"You're so domestic." Hisae said enviously, "You always get best marks in home ec. I'm jealous. Guys really like that, you know."

"Eh,heh, heh." Tooru blushed.

"And that!" She pointed to Tooru's cheeks, "You blush so easily! You're so cute! No wonder you've got so many boys chasing you."

"Eh?" Tooru said blinking.

"Kyou-kun, Prince Yuki and now Maseo..." Hisae dimpled. "We all think Maseo's pretty brave to try to compete. But don't add him to your harem unless you really love him, okay? He'd really a gentle guy, he gets hurt easy."

"H-harem?" Tooru sputtered to a stop just before the classroom door. "N-no, it's not like that! Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun... they... it's not..."

"But it is with Maseo?" Hisae grabbed Tooru's hands, and rocked back and forth. "Can I tell him? He likes you so much! We've been friends since forever, we live right next door, you know. He's liked you for ages! Ever since middle school."

"Really?" Tooru said. She hadn't even noticed him. Not once. "Um... I..." She didn't know what to say.

"Oh, class is about to start." Hisae glanced towards the classroom and dropped Tooru's hands. "I'll let you tell him, just don't take too long. He thinks that maybe you don't really like him. He may not seem it, but he can be kind of insecure." She looked at her and grinned. "Let's get inside before Sensei yells." She darted in and settled into her seat.

Tooru followed, a little slower and her mind going a million miles a minute. Hisae thought the Yuki and Kyou liked her the way that Fujitsima did, in a love letter kind of way. Fujitsima had liked her for years. She wasn't able to keep her mind on anything that was going on in class. _"We all think..."_ who was _"We all"_? She'd always had a small world. First it had been her and her mother, then her mother and her girlfriends, now it was much larger... all the Soumas had filled up little areas she hadn't even realized were empty. Her life had expanded so much, but now she was realizing just how small it still was. She'd never paid all that much attention to her fellow students, other then Uo-chan and Hana-chan. She'd assumed that her fellow students were returning the favor by not paying much attention to her. Obviously, she was wrong.

Everyone seemed to have a different interpretation of what was going on around her. She just wished she knew what was the true one.

:0:0:

She was fretting. Kyou slouched in his seat, ignoring the teacher and whatever lesson he might be teaching. His attention was focused on the back of her head. Tooru was fretting, if she was in a manga there would be dark clouds and little swirls above her head. She was going to make herself sick. He'd at least made sure that she had a good breakfast, but she hadn't eaten even close to half of her lunch. She'd made a stew for dinner; he was going to make sure she ate before she went to bed. He glanced to the side at Fujitsima. Kyou straightened. The idiot was staring at him. He glared back at him. It was all his fault, making her get up early, all that date talk, and annoying friends. If Tooru got sick... his eyes slid back to her seat.

When class went into study hall, Kyou got up to walk to Tooru's desk. He wanted to look at her face, if she was worrying herself into a fever she'd be looking pale and peaked by now. Maybe she could skip work today...

"Kyou-kun."

He glanced to the side at the idiot. "What?" he asked, watching Hanajima walk over to Tooru and begin to finger comb her hair. Tooru started and looked up at her as if she hadn't even noticed her come over. She was definitely out of it. Uo-chan and Yuki were crowding around now too. She'd be trying to hide it if she wasn't feeling well. He cursed to himself. He'd missed his opportunity.

"Can, uh, we talk for a minute, after school?" Fujitsima fiddled with his tie.

"About what?" Kyou asked, finally turning his attention fully to him. "Let's talk now." He didn't want to have to waste his afternoon talking to the idiot about some stupid TV show or something.

"We can't... here." Fujitsima looked around at the other students significantly. "It'll just take a couple of minutes. I promise."

"I thought you were walking her to work." Kyou jutted his chin at Tooru.

"We can talk while she's getting her stuff. It'll be that quick." Fujitsima said, and then repeated. "Promise!"

"Okay, fine, whatever." Kyou said watching Uo-chan scold Tooru. She was obediently opening up her bento again and eating under Uo-chan's watchful eyes. At least the Yankee was good for something.

"Over behind the lockers then?" Fujitsima pressed.

"Fine already!" Kyou said, exasperated.

"Fujitsima-kun." The teacher called. "Please go get the study materials from the copy room. Bring someone with you, there is a lot to carry."

The class groaned, a lot to carry usually meant a lot of work.

"Yes, Sensei. Souma-kun." Fujitsima said looking at Yuki, "Would you please help me?"

Yuki looked up from Tooru's desk. She looked between Fujitsima and Yuki. "Of course." Yuki replied. "I'll talk to you later, Honda-san. You can keep looking over my notes." He handed her his notebook. "We'll go over them when we study."

"Thank you, Yuki-kun." Tooru smiled. "I'll study hard." As an afterthought she turned to give a weak smile to Fujitsima.

The two boys walked out the door. Yuki gave a little sigh to himself. He was already in a bad mood. Was Tooru's useless suitor going to try to "make friends" the way he had with the stupid cat? If so, Yuki planned to put a quick end to that idea. The other boy kept sneaking glances at him, but it wasn't until they'd gotten the boxes from the copy room and were halfway back that he finally got the courage to break the silence.

"Um... Souma-kun," Fujitsima began, looking at him nervously out of the corner of his eye. "I...uh..."

"Yes?" Yuki prompted impatiently.

"I think you shouldn't talk so much to Honda-san in school." Fujitsima said in a rush.

Yuki stopped and stared at the other boy. "What?" His fingers dug into the corners of the box he was holding.

"And, maybe, not be so... friendly with her, like eating lunch and stuff with her." Fujitsima continued, not meeting his eyes. "Or walking to school."

"Who Honda-san spends her time with is her business." Yuki said turning and starting back before he gave into the urge to rip apart the other boy.

Fujitsima caught up with him just outside the classroom door. "But don't you see you're causing problems for Honda-san?" Fujitsima puffed. "No one understands that you're just like a brother to her. They think you're, you know, interested in her. A lot of the other girls are jealous, and everyone talks about how you're nicer to her then you are to anyone else. I know you aren't-"

"You're wrong." Yuki interrupted. "Honda-san is not like a sister to me. And I am _not_ her brother."

Fujitsima swallowed. He'd never seen "Prince Yuki" so angry. His purple eyes, usually bland and noncommittal, were snapping. His mouth was a hard line and his whole body stiff and straight. The way Yuki looked down at him, even though he couldn't have been more then an inch or two taller, made him feel like a bug.

"Not a sister...?" Fujitsima repeated faintly. "But-"

"Honda-san is very important to me." Yuki said icily. "But that is my business, not anyone else's." He broke eye contact with Fujitsima allowing him time to remember how to breathe. "Mine and Honda-san's." He said softly.

"But..." Fujitsima started.

"I don't care what the other students are saying." Yuki said, "Honda-san is very important to me, I will not be dictated who I can and can't speak to. Not by someone who has no right." He opened the classroom door and marched to the front, firmly placing his box on the teacher's desk before spinning on his heel and walking back to his desk.

Fujitsima followed slowly, shell-shocked and looking like he'd seen a ghost. He put his box down next to Yuki's and walked back to his desk, sliding into his seat.

"As you know we have a test next week, these will be your study guides." The teacher said reaching into the boxes and pulling out packets of papers. He handed them out to the class. "We'll be spending a hour each day reviewing the contents." The class groaned again, their study hall was usually used as a relaxation period, but it looked like that was coming to an end.

Tooru looked between Yuki and Fujitsima. She hadn't seen Yuki so angry in a long time. Not even Ayame or Kyou got him that upset. He was still sitting ramrod straight at his desk; he was so stiff that it looked like he'd shatter if he tried to turn his head too fast. She glanced back at Fujitsima, he was looking confused and upset, and his readable face was a picture of disappointment. What was going on?

"Honda-san, eyes on the board, please."

Tooru jumped and blushed, turning back to face the teacher. She shoved thoughts of the two boys out of her mind and tried to focus on the class at hand.

:0:0:

Kyou peered around the corner of the lockers and watched Tooru talk to the Denpa chick and Yankee before they left for the day. She was still looking frazzled but she'd calmed down some since lunch. He glanced around looking for the idiot. He flexed his fingers; they'd healed up enough for him to start working out again, at least in his opinion. He'd go to the dojo and talk to Shishou today, to tell him Tooru was coming to visit Sunday and see if he'd be allowed to hit something. He really, really wanted to hit something.

He saw Fujitsima coming his way and mentally revised that. He really wanted to hit someone. One particular someone. Really hard. Repeatedly. He took a deep breath as he braced himself to deal with him. He wasn't a bad guy, he was just dumb... and annoying. The other boy was deep in thought. He looked worried, depressed and pensive.

Idly, Kyou wondered what had gone one between the Rat and the Idiot when they were in the hall. Yuki had looked like someone had taken the stick up his rear and shoved it up further, right through his spine. Normally Kyou was all for that, but the Idiot looked like someone had just run over his puppy. Not that he felt sympathetic, but if the Idiot was upset he'd probably find a way to upset Tooru too.

"Hey, Kyou-kun." Fujitsima said, looking distracted, "Um, thanks for coming."

"Whatever." Kyou said, "Just hurry it up, you don't want to make her late." He looked at Tooru, she was packing up her bag for work.

"I won't." Fujitsima snapped.

Kyou looked back at him in surprise. The Idiot had just snapped at him. The Idiot never got snappy. "What's your problem?"

Fujitsima looked instantly apologetic. "I'm sorry. It's just... um... promise you won't get mad at me?"

"What?" Kyou asked, confused.

"Souma-kun got mad at me when I brought it up with him." Fujitsima said, not meeting his eyes. He took a deep breath, clenched his fists and looked at Kyou's shoes.

"I think that Kyou-kun shouldn't be so friendly with Honda-san." He said. He took another deep breath and continued before Kyou could interrupt. "People notice that Kyou is always looking after her. And you're always eating lunch with her and walking to school with her. People talk." Fujitsima looked to the side, "And they don't say nice things. She doesn't deserve that. How does Kyou-kun see Honda-san?"

Kyou blinked, this conversation was surreal. He'd barely processed that the Idiot was asking him to stay away from Tooru. "What do you mean?" He glanced nervously at Tooru. How does he see her?

"Souma-kun said he doesn't see Honda-san as a sister." Fujitsima said miserably. "He got really mad. I think he likes her."

"He said what?" Kyou yelled. "Did he say that?"

"He said..." Fujitsima shrank back from Kyou, "That Honda-san was very important to him." Fujitsima looked down at his feet. "I don't understand. Why Honda-san? Souma-kun has everyone chasing after him, why her? I don't understand." He scratched the back of his head.

"Why not her?" Kyou said focusing in on the last part. His mind wasn't ready to process that Yuki had essentially declared his feelings for Tooru. Their feelings for her had been something hidden, something kept safe from other people's attention. Especially since it wasn't as if anything could come of it, in the end. He'd be locked up and the Rat would  
be just as trapped with Akito. And she'd be alone. He shoved his despair out of his mind, choosing to get angry instead. "Are you saying you don't think she's good enough?"

"No, no!" Fujitsima said quickly. "It's just-"

"Just what? She's not pretty enough for someone else to be interested, or smart enough?" Kyou jabbed a finger at him. "I thought you liked her? You should be able to think of a ton of reasons why anyone would like her! She's loyal, and kind, and nice to everyone... and pretty too!" Kyou advanced a step on Fujitsima, and he retreated, his hands up in surrender. "Just 'cause, you know, she's not a beauty queen, doesn't mean that she's not pretty. And she's a good listener, and works hard, never whines or complains even when she's having a problem. She worries herself sick over people who don't deserve it, and-"

"It's just that I can't compete with Souma-kun!" Fujitsima interrupted. "He's perfect! He's smart, and good at sports, and every girl in class has a crush on him! Practically every girl in school! Hisae told me that she thought he liked her, but I thought he was different with her... because of... you know. But he said that he wasn't her brother. So now, I think Hisae is right." He looked up at Kyou sullenly. "I think you both like her _like_ like her."

"So what?" Kyou said angrily, refusing to think about it. "What does it matter if we do or don't? She's the one who matters. Quit worrying about what everyone else is thinking! And the Rat isn't so great." He fell onto his favorite subject with relish. "He can be an ass, and he's lazy, sloppy and clumsy. He's breaking stuff around the house all the time."

Fujitsima stared at him. "So you're saying I shouldn't give up?" He broke into a grin. "You are a real friend! It's good to know I can count on you."

"What?" Kyou said, caught off-guard. He'd only been saying that Tooru's feelings where what mattered, and complaining about the Rat. He hadn't said anything about wanting the Idiot to keep chasing after her. Especially since it seemed that Tooru wasn't entirely enjoying his attention.

"So you'll help me?" Fujitsima asked eagerly. "Honda-san is so nervous when we talk. Maybe you can ask her how she feels about me? I think she likes me, but it's hard to tell. She's so much more... relaxed around you. Thanks!" He turned and saw Tooru waiting patiently by her locker.

"I've got to get going. Thanks again Kyou-kun!" He ran over to her and smiled. She smiled back and they left the building together. Kyou saw him take her hand as they reached the doors.

"Dammit." Kyou said under his breath. He hoped that Shishou would say his hands were healed enough to use the punching bag.


	13. Chapter 13

"So we didn't get a chance to make many plans at lunch." Fujitsima said, breaking the awkward silence between them. "I hope Honda-san is excited to go."

"Oh, yes." She said, trying to sound eager. "I haven't gone to view blossoms since Mother and I went. That was a lot of fun, Mother showed me how to people watch and we watched all the happy families." Tooru gave a real smile at the thought. Her mother had pointed out family after family spinning tales about their lives, that father had just gotten a promotion, that son had just been accepted to a prestigious high school, that mom had just found out she was having another baby...

"That sounds nice." Fujitsima said. "Last year I went with my parents and sister too." He blushed. "This'll be the first year that I'll be going to a "couples only" party."

"Me too." Tooru said, flushing just as red. She'd forgotten about that part. She'd never been involved as part of "couples" anything.

"Um... you know... I've never really asked, so I don't know how Honda-san feels..." Fujitsima said nervously. "I mean, going to a couples only party kind of means that we're... um.. a couple. That is..." He coughed into his free hand. "That we're dating.. um...going out, like... just with each other. Is that okay with you?"

Tooru looked up at him, like a deer in headlights.

"What I'm saying is, I'd like it if Honda-san was my girlfriend, and I'd be her boyfriend." He stopped glancing at the building she worked in then back at her.

"Um..." Tooru said intelligently. "That is..." She was just so surprised. It wasn't that she didn't understand that Fujitsima was interested in her that way. But they'd only been on one date, and they hardly knew each other. "Um..."

His face fell but he rallied gamely. "Honda-san doesn't have to answer right away." He squeezed her hand and let go. "I'll wait till Honda-san is ready to give me her answer. Only..." he looked at her hopefully. "Would Honda-san mind if I call her "Tooru-kun"?"

"No!" Tooru said quickly. "I don't mind, I don't mind at all. Fujits...um Fuji-san and I are friends, aren't we?"

"Yes!" Fujitsima glowed. "I'll see Tooru-kun at school tomorrow." He jogged off, radiating happiness.

She walked numbly inside the building. Boyfriend? She wondered what you were supposed to feel when someone asked you to be his girlfriend. She would have thought happiness or excitement. She did feel a little glow at the thought. Somebody wanted her. She had friends, and she knew that Uo-chan and Hana-chan loved her the way she loved them. And the Soumas... she wasn't quite sure what she was to them... other then a trusted friend. They were precious to her, but she didn't know if they held her in the same regard.

No one had ever pursued her before, tried to attract her attention so blatantly. Like she was someone special. Yuki and Kyou were both so hurt and unused to being friends that she'd had to spend most of her effort in chasing them instead of the other way around. She knew they did like her, and care for her; they wouldn't have gotten her from her aunt's if they hadn't. She knew they cared. But no one besides Fujitsima had said "I like you. I like you because..."

But she was pretty sure that you weren't supposed to feel a blind flash of panic at the thought of dating someone. Or were you? She didn't have any experience, and Uo-chan and Hana-chan hadn't ever said anything about it so she assumed they didn't either. She hadn't watched many movies, or read all that many manga, but didn't most girls get very nervous about their first boyfriend? Maybe it was normal. She tried to think about how her mother had described her and her father's courtship, but she hadn't talked about it much. Her mother had just said that her father had saved her.

She started mopping the hallway floor, turning the idea over. Fujitsima-san, her boyfriend. Fuji-san, she corrected herself, wrinkling her nose. She didn't even feel comfortable calling him by his nickname, much less calling him her boyfriend. But how could she say no to him? He was so nice. He'd be so disappointed. She didn't want to hurt him. But becoming his girlfriend just felt... not right, like puzzle pieces that just don't quite fit together and were being forced.

She wanted someone to talk to. She didn't feel comfortable talking with Yuki or Kyou, it felt wrong to bring it up around them. Hana-chan and Uo-chan would listen, she was sure, but since they hadn't had any experience either she didn't know how much she could learn from them. She longed for her Mother, but that wasn't an option. That left...

Shigure. Tooru was halfway convinced that Shigure knew everything. He was playful, but he was always coming up with just the right thing to say. She had to talk to him anyway, to ask if it would be okay for her to go with Fujitsima on Friday after school.

And she knew, even if he was a Junninshi, that he had to have dated at some point. And he was a writer! Some of the romances he'd written had to have covered this kind of thing. Maybe she should read some of his romances... Yuki and Kyou had discouraged her when she was curious about them before, but she felt so behind everyone else. It was like everyone else knew a secret and she was the only one who didn't.

She nodded to herself. She'd talk to Shigure tonight and ask to borrow some of his books. Maybe love was like other things; it just needed practice and study to get it right.

:0:0:0:

Yuki leaned against the cool metal of the guardrail, finally starting to gain a measure of calm. He'd been in a foul mood all day, thanks to that moron. He'd decided to go straight home rather then work on preparing some materials for the student council meeting. He thought he might be able to calm himself by tending his garden, but he'd been so restless and upset that he couldn't settle on a task. Now he had one bed of vegetables half weeded, another patch half planted and a couple of clumsy signs stuck up as random markers. He sighed. He hadn't been able to do homework, or eat dinner. He'd finally just collapsed on this bed and imagined doing awful things to Fujitsima, before drifting off into a fitful nap.

When he woke up he'd decided, even though it was an hour early, to go Tooru's workplace. The walk would hopefully calm him, and just knowing he was going to see her made him feel a little better. He'd taken his time getting there window shopping along the way. He'd pretty much abandoned his plan to follow the dating magazine's advice to make Tooru see him differently, but his mind had latched on to the idea of getting her a gift.

It was an interesting puzzle, to try to come up with something she'd like. He loved puzzles. She didn't buy clothes, shoes, gadgets or knickknacks. She'd made her interest in the zodiac clear but he'd feel awkward giving her something from her year, the dog, because of the association with Shigure. Likewise it would be too embarrassing to give her something that was related to the rat. And if he gave her something that had the whole zodiac in it she'd find some way to work in the stupid cat, and he didn't want to see that. She'd acted like the ribbons he'd given her were dipped in gold, and she certainly wore them often enough.

He thought about getting her some small piece of jewelry, something else he could see her wear and smile to himself about. He was pretty sure her ears weren't pierced, or at least, he'd never seen her wear earrings. So a necklace, ring or bracelet... But after glancing around at some of the stores along the way he didn't see anything that was personal enough. He did see a few rings, but the ones he liked were expensive. He knew Tooru wouldn't like him to buy her anything cost too much; it would make her feel guilty.

So, no jewelry. He looked down at the bag dangling from his fingertips. It had been a total impulse buy, he'd seen it and bought it before he really thought about it. He hoped she liked it. He tried to come up with a reason for the gift, other then 'Just Because.' "Just because I want to see you smile..." he thought, "Just because I want you to look at me, and see only me, for just a couple of minutes. Because I want you to think of me, every time you see it."

"Yuki-kun is early!" Tooru had snuck up on him while he was daydreaming.

He started and looked at his watch. "So is Honda-san." It was about twenty minutes before she usually got out.

"The ladies I work with saw you waiting and told me to leave early." She turned and waved. Yuki looked up to see a couple of middle aged women in work smocks watching from a 3rd story window. He gave them a wave and they waved back eagerly, like young girls, shedding years as they remembered boys they'd had crushes on in the past. "Were you waiting long?"

"No," Yuki smiled, leaving his slouched perch on the guardrail. "I wanted a little air tonight, so I left early and took my time and did a little window shopping."

They started back towards home. Tooru smiled, "I'm glad to see Yuki-kun is feeling better."

Yuki looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

Tooru blushed, "Yuki-kun wasn't himself today. I thought maybe, Yuki-kun wasn't feeling well."

"I'm sorry if I caused you to worry." Yuki said, inwardly wincing that she'd seen him so out of sorts, "I woke later then I wished this morning, and it put me in a foul mood." He tensed thinking of his conversation with Fujitsima, "And some things irritated me today."

"Some things?" Tooru prompted.

"Don't worry about it." Yuki was quick to reassure her. "None of it was Honda-san's doing."

"But... If Yuki-kun likes, he can tell me about what irritated him anyway." Tooru smiled. "Mother always said that a problem shared was a problem halved. Maybe if Yuki-kun shares his irritation with me he won't feel so bad next time."

"Thank you." Yuki smiled, "Just the offer makes me feel much better. Ah!" He looked down, "I almost forgot." He hadn't... but it was as good excuse as any to switch the subject. He couldn't exactly tell her that her "Fuji-kun" had told him to stop talking to her because it made people talk. "I bought something for Honda-san today." He stopped and held up the shopping bag.

"For me?" Tooru gasped. "Yuki-kun shouldn't have done that!"

"Please accept it." Yuki said pleadingly. "It made me feel better to buy it. So it's just as much for me as for Honda-san. Here." He held out the bag.

Tooru set her book bag down on the ground and bowed a little as she accepted it. "Thank you, Yuki-kun." She looked inside and pulled out a something wrapped in white paper. "Ooh, how cute!" She exclaimed as she unrolled it from the protective tissue. She held out a small fat pot that fit in the palm of her hand. It was made of thick terracotta and painted white with a leaves and vines on the side. She peeked back inside the bag. There were four pots all together and a narrow tray to hold them.

"It's a window garden." Yuki said. "There are seeds and some soil in little packets at the bottom."

"Ah!" Tooru carefully re-wrapped the pot and put it back in the bag. She dug out a little packet that read "chamomile" and saw another labeled "lemon balm." She smiled at Yuki. "Thank you so much!"

"Honda-san doesn't really have a place that's just hers." Yuki said, "I was thinking that today."

Tooru blinked.

"What I mean is, I have my secret base, and Shigure has his study and  
even the Baka Neko has the roof..." Yuki looked away from her. He'd been trying to think of somewhere he could get her alone, and besides his garden he couldn't think of anywhere. "I wanted to give Honda-san a place to relax too. Honda-san does work too hard." He smiled at her. "It's just a little thing, but I hope Honda-san enjoys it. I tried to pick out plants Honda-san would enjoy growing. It has seeds for different kinds of tea herbs. There are four kinds. "

"Thank you!" Tooru said, hugging the bag to her. "It's like Yuki-kun has given me my own secret base. When they're grown I'll make Yuki-kun the first cup of tea."

"Do you want me to help setting it up?" Yuki asked.

"Oh, yes." Tooru nodded. "I suppose it's too late tonight..." She pouted, "and tomorrow Yuki-kun has student council."

"It shouldn't be a long meeting." Yuki made a promise to himself that it would be a very, very short meeting. "Maybe after dinner tomorrow? We can set it up on the window ledge in your room." He looked up and suppressed a frown. They were home already.

"I'd like that." Tooru smiled. "Then every night before I go to bed, I can look at it."

Yuki went bright red. He turned away from her quickly before she noticed in the darkness. Every night before she went to bed she'd look at it... This was better then his ribbons in her hair. "Um, let's get inside." He couldn't let her see how much she affected him.

:0:0:0:

Yuki had practically run into the house a head of her. She thought maybe he was a little embarrassed by what she said, and the thought made her heart give a funny thump. The last night when he'd walked her home and she'd gotten him to open up to her, when he'd blushed and looked so awkward, she'd felt that funny rhythm too. Like her heart was throbbing to a different beat. She put her hand over her chest. You'd think a thing like that would be uncomfortable. But it made her feel buttery and soft inside. It was so pleasant and relaxing, she'd try to remember that feeling every time she looked at her gift.

She went upstairs and unwrapped her gift, setting it on the windowsill. She put the little pots on the tray and set the packets of seed and soil next to them. Her very own miniature secret base, it was possibly one of the best gifts she'd ever gotten. She took a moment to re-arrange the pots so the vines and leaves painted on the side faced the same way and then each were evenly spaced apart on the tray. She wanted to keep running her fingers over the mouths of the jars, and around the lip of the tray. She tore herself away, promising herself a small set of paints to write "secret base" on the tray next payday.

She was about to get into her pajamas when she remembered about Friday. She sighed. Shigure was still up; he was reading his paper downstairs. Yuki was in his room and she assumed that Kyou was in his, that or on the roof. Now was probably the best time to talk to him.

It had seemed like a good idea to ask him about love, feelings and romance while she'd been mopping the floors at work. Now she felt nervous and uncomfortable. She was used to feeling dumb, but really, a person ought to just sort of know those kinds of things, shouldn't they? Either way, she told herself, she had to go ask about the cherry blossom viewing. She assumed he'd say yes, but she did have to ask. She squared her shoulders and decided to go right downstairs to talk with him. If she could work up courage to ask about the other stuff she would, if not... at least she'd have an answer for Fujitsima tomorrow.

She peeked outside her door. She wanted to avoid any awkward questions from Yuki and Kyou about why she'd want to talk alone with Shigure. Thankfully the house was quiet. She could hear faint strains of music coming from Kyou's room; he must be reading his sports magazines. Yuki rarely stirred from his room once he was in it, so now was the perfect time. She walked quietly down the stairs and into the living room.

Shigure looked up and gave her a smile. "Ah, my little flower. Not in bed yet?"

"Soon," Tooru smiled nervously, "I just... I needed to talk with Shigure-san, if he has time?"

"For my lovely bride, I always have time." Shigure said expansively and made a show of folding up his paper. "Is this the kind of conversation that requires tea?"

Tea would make her feel _much _better. "I'll go make some." She glanced nervously at the stairs. "Could we maybe talk in Shigure-san's office?" She'd never screw up the courage to ask the questions wanted if she was worried Kyou or Yuki might wander downstairs any moment.

Shigure raised an eyebrow. "This sounds serious. Why don't I clear a spot for you while you're making the tea?"

Tooru nodded distractedly and walked into the kitchen to heat the water. It took not nearly enough time to boil, and she had a small tray of tea and cookies together in what seemed like a blink of an eye. Why was she so nervous, she wondered. She steeled herself and walked into his study.

Shigure had meant it when he said he needed to clear a space for her. His study was a mess as usual. There were clothes, papers, teacups and books everywhere. He'd made a semi-circle of cleared floor around his desk. It looked like he'd just pushed the clutter away from the desk. Tooru stepped gingerly over pile of debris into the cleared zone. Placing the tea tray on his desk, she glanced nervously at the low pile of mess surrounding them. She felt like she was being walled in by clutter.

"Shigure-san should let me clean up in here." Tooru said, mentally planning where she would start. First would be the dirty dishes and laundry... She poured out the tea for Shigure and herself, trying to figure out how many loads of garbage she'd be able to pull out of there.

"That would be asking too much of Tooru-chan." Shigure chuckled. "But maybe this weekend we can work together to make this mess into some semblance of order."

"I'd like that." Tooru smiled, fiddling nervously with her teacup.

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Tooru tried to screw up her courage to ask about Friday and her other questions buzzed in the air between them. How do you know if you like someone? _Like_ like. How do you know if they like you? What is it supposed to feel like when someone asks "will you be mine?" She felt like she could swat them away, the air was so thick with them.

"Why so nervous?" Shigure said, making her jump. "Tooru-chan is making me worried." He looked at her seriously, his dark eyes shadowed in the dim light of his study.

"Fujitsima-san," Tooru started hesitantly, "asked me on another date."

"Ah." Shigure said, reading her sentence like a fortuneteller reads tea leaves, finding layers and layers of meaning in that short phrase. "When?"

"This Friday," Tooru said, setting her teacup down, picking it up and setting it down again. She looked into the depths of her tea. "He wants to go view the cherry blossoms with some other classmates."

Kyon and Yuki?" Shigure asked casually, sipping his tea. He deliberately didn't try to force eye contact. She was like a nervous kitten, if you tried to grab her she'd bolt.

"No, two other...ah...couples." Tooru blushed, and peeped up at him.

Shigure nodded, "Ah, couples."

"Since usually I do the cooking, I said I had to ask if I could go." Tooru explained when he didn't say anything further. She didn't know what she wanted him to answer.

Shigure shifted in his seat, studying her. "We'd never stop Tooru-chan from doing something she wanted to." He cocked his head at her curiously. "Does my little flower want to go?"

Want to? She set her teacup down and folded her hands together. Fujitsima had asked, but he and the others just assumed she did. "Well, I mean," Tooru said haltingly. "If I got permission... I said I'd go." At least she thought she had. Everyone seemed to think so. It was a little too late to decide that she didn't want to go, wasn't it? And she did want to go, didn't she?

"Does Tooru-chan," Shigure asked softly, "want me to say no, don't go?"

Tooru started and looked up at him. She looked back down. If he said no, then she wouldn't have to... But Fujitsima had looked so happy about doing something 'couples only.' "Oh, no, that is, Fujitsima-san really wants to go...and I do think it would be fun..." The last part was said more like a question then a statement.

Shigure didn't look convinced, but he sighed and waved a hand. "Then I will have to do without my lovely young bride's cooking for one night." He sipped at his tea, "But if Tooru-chan changes her mind, I can develop a sudden craving and insist you stay home."

She blushed at the implication. She'd feel horrible if she did that to Fujitsima. She shifted nervously.

"Was there something else Tooru-chan wanted to ask?" Shigure quirked his eyebrows at her playfully.

Tooru went beet red. This was such a bad idea. How could she ask...? He'd think she was so stupid. "Um..." Her traitorous mouth started moving before her brain caught up, "Shigure-san's books... the one under his penname..." The books, she'd ask to borrow some of his books. Maybe she'd learn something from those and wouldn't have to ask.

"My romances?" Shigure prompted, staring at her.

Tooru bowed her head, certain she was going to spontaneously combust. "May I borrow some?"

"I don't mind..." Shigure said watching her squirm, "But I have quite a few. Was there a particular title you were interested in?"

She had no idea. "Um... is there any that Shigure-san recommends?

The dog gave her a long look. She had expressed and interest in his books before, but had never actually read any of them. As he recalled she was more interested in his high literature works and hadn't ever really paid attention to his romances. With the sudden upswing in romance in her life he could guess why she was suddenly so curious. She was so skittish, he decided that direct confrontation would probably not be best.

"Well, most people choose their romance based on the kind of romantic scenario they like best." Shigure said digging behind him in the pile of clutter. He pulled out a battered book and glanced at the cover. "Like this one, is a historical romance between a samurai and a geisha."

"Um... maybe something more... umm..." Tooru faltered.

"Modern day?" Shigure supplied and turned to dig through another pile. He pulled a couple of books out, he shuffled them like cards. "This one is between an Office Lady and her boss, this one is College Student and Professor, and this one a students in high school."

"Oh!" Tooru said sitting up. "That last one..."

"The high school romance?" Shigure tossed the other two over his shoulder and looked at the cover of the last book. "Mmmm... Okay." He handed it to her. "But that one is boy's love."

Tooru looked at the cover. "Love's Battle." She read aloud, underneath the lurid type was a thin red-haired young man, shirt open, pressing a doe-eyed, silver haired boy up against the wall. The silver haired boy looked like he was trying to push the other boy off, but couldn't. Tooru's mouth dropped open. "Shonen ai?" She whispered. She'd heard girls in her class squeal about this kind of thing before, but she'd never encountered it.

"More Yaoi, then Shonen ai." Shigure waved his hand back and forth. "It might not be what Tooru-chan is looking for. Maybe if she told me?"

"Um... I'm looking for a story about High School..." She started hesitantly, gripping the book tightly. "Um... first romance?" She felt like Shigure could see right through her.

"Boy Meets Girl?" Shigure asked.

"Yes... or maybe, um... Girl meets Boy?" She really wanted something from a girl's point of view.

Shigure sat back, leaning on his hands. "Like Tooru-chan has met Maseo-kun?"

Tooru ducked her head, mortified. "Well, it's just that... I..." She stumbled.

"Tooru-chan has questions." Shigure said, "And thought you might find an answer in one of the books?"

"Yes." Tooru could feel tears starting to prick at the back of her eyes.  
She'd never been more embarrassed in her life.

"Mmmm." Shigure said rubbing his chin. "I don't think that Tooru-chan will find what she's looking for in books. Romances are idealized... and not very much like real life."

Tooru wanted the earth to open up and swallow her.

"But if Tooru-chan has questions..." Shigure smiled, "She can ask me. I'll try to answer as much as I can." He brightened. "Or!" He drawled, "If Tooru-chan wants to talk to a woman, I could call Mi-chan over!

"No, no!" Tooru said quickly, not wanting to spread her shame any further. "Shigure-san is fine. I trust Shigure-san."

"You do?" Shigure looked genuinely surprised.

"Of course." Tooru said, looking up at him. "Shigure-san is one of the smartest people I know. And he's so kind."

A confused guilty look chased across Shigure's face, but he swept it away quickly. "What would Tooru-chan like to ask me?"

"What does love feel like?" She blurted.

Shigure blinked at her. He opened his mouth, closed it and then ran a hand through his hair. "The act or the emotion?"

Tooru cocked her head. "I don't understand..."

"Of course not..." Shigure shook his head. "I mean... you want to know how being "in love" feels like?"

"Yes!" Tooru nodded, sitting forward eagerly. "How do you know if you like someone?"

"Those are two different questions." Shigure said seriously. He leaned forward and crossed his hands on the desk. "Love feels different to everyone. It's indescribable... and there are different kinds of love."

Tooru sat back dejectedly.

"I _can_ tell you," Shigure continued, "That love starts here." He touched his stomach, " and here," he touched his heart, "way before it gets to here." He tapped his temple. "It starts with a shivery feeling on your skin, or a bubbly feeling when you are with that person. Some people say it's like a funny heartbeat or butterflies in your stomach."

He smiled, "For me it's like being hungry."

"Hungry?"

"Yes, for me that's what it's like." He lay his hand flat over his stomach. "It's like a gnawing feeling when I'm not with that person. I want to see them, be with them." He wagged a finger at Tooru, "But like I said there are all kinds of love. With some people, it's just a craving now and then, like seeing someone walk by with a fancy dessert. You want to try some, even if you're full. Or a favorite food, you want to have it because it reminds you of good times." He sat back again. "But with my most special person... I'm like a starving man."

Tooru wanted to ask a flood of questions. Who was Shigure's most special person? How could you want a love like food? She remembered how she felt after her mother died, and she understood. You just _wanted_ more, just a little bit more, all the time. And that was one kind of love, wasn't it...? And Uo-chan and Hana-chan were like favorite foods, being with them made her happy but she didn't need them all of the time. She might want to be around them a lot, but she didn't _need_ them. She remembered those few days when Yuki and Kyou had seemed to disappear in the house and she hadn't seen them. She'd craved them then, hadn't she? Even though she had Fujitsima and Hana and Uo, she'd just wanted them there too.

She nodded, her mind reaching for a conclusion that seemed just out of reach.

"So for each kind of love, there is a different feeling..." Tooru mused out loud. "And for your most special person, it's the strongest?"

"Yes." Shigure agreed.

She looked up at him. "And I should feel it here," she put a hand on her stomach "Or here," she put a hand over her heart. She remembered the unsteady rhythm she got when she saw how flustered and red Yuki got last night. Her heart stuttered again.

"Some people feel it in their skin." Shigure qualified. "They describe it as tingles or shivers when the person is around. But pleasant. And some times people say it's like a magnetic pull. You can't stop looking at a person, or following where they go with your eyes."

Tooru looked down, remembering how her very hair seemed to tingle where Kyou had plucked out the sakura petals. "But here." She tapped her temple. "It's here last?"

Shigure nodded. "It's different for everyone. But, yes, love has a way of creeping up on you. Your body knows it before your mind usually. And it's impossible to talk yourself into loving someone you don't."

Tooru considered that. "Why would someone try to do that?" That didn't make any sense.

"Many reasons." Shigure said, "Take, for example, an arranged marriage. These are two people who are to live together for the rest of their lives. Surely it would be happier if the union were a love match. So, when faced with no choice, one might try to talk the body into loving what's available." He watched Tooru absorb that. "Or, it could be that one person, who might be very nice and not objectionable, might love a second person. But that second person might not return that love. If they see the person is nice, and dependable, they might think "I should return their feelings" or "I don't want to hurt this person" and try to talk themselves into loving that person back."

She blinked, trying to take that in. She had that almost there feeling again, like trying to remember a word that was right on the tip of your tongue.

"Can I ask..." Shigure started, "What made Tooru-chan want to know all this? Was it just because Maseo-kun asked Tooru-chan on another date?"

"Fujitsima-san," Tooru said distractedly, her mind still trying to make that last leap, that last connection, "also asked if I would be his girlfriend."

"Ahhh..." Shigure said softly.

"And also..." Tooru looked up at him. "Hisae-san, a classmate, said that they thought Fujitsima-san was brave to compete with Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun."

Shigure propped his chin up with his fist. "They?"

"I don't know who exactly," Tooru's puzzlement was obvious. "Hisae-chan said "We all think..." but I don't know who..." She looked up at Shigure, "Or why they would think they'd be competing. Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are my friends...Fujitsima-san said they were like brothers." There was a silent "Aren't they?" on the end of her sentence.

"I wonder if they think that." Shigure said softly.

"Should I ask them?" Tooru asked innocently. That would be the easiest way to find out.

"I would like to see that if you do." Shigure chuckled. He leaned over and mussed Tooru's hair. "But what is important..." He tweaked her nose, "Is what you think they are to you, all three of them. "She put her hand over her nose in surprise, giggling. "Did you give an answer to Maseo-kun?"

That sobered her quickly. Tooru shook her head, "Fujit-" She sighed and corrected herself. "Fuji-san surprised me."

"Fuji-san?" Shigure straightened.

"Oh, um...Hisae-chan decided that since Fuji-san and had been on a date we should be more... informal." Tooru shifted uncomfortably. "So I should call Fujitsima-san by Mother's standard "Fuji-san" and Fujit...Fuji-san would call me "Tooru-kun." She looked up at Shigure. "I'm not used to it yet."

"Mmmm... Hisae-chan decided, hmn?" Shigure mused.

"Hisae-chan and Fuji-san have been friends for a long time." Tooru nodded. "Hisae-chan will be at the viewing party with Akira-kun from class."

Tooru yawned.

Shigure looked at his desk clock. "It's late! My little flower should be in bed by now."

"Oh!" Tooru said, "I'll just wash out the teacups..."

"They can wait till morning." Shigure covered the hand reaching for his cup. "I don't want my little bride to over-sleep and not have time to make breakfast."

"I'd never do that!" Tooru said, shocked.

Shigure laughed and stood. "Just be a good girl and go on to bed."

Tooru nodded and let herself be led out of the study. "Goodnight Shigure-san, and thank you for talking to me."

Shigure gave a courtly bow, "I'm touched that my princess considers me worthy to consult." He straightened and hooked his fingers into his waist tie.

Tooru looked up at Shigure. "On Saturday, Shigure-san and I will clean up his study, right?"

He leaned against the doorframe, put a hand up to the top sill, and hung half in and half out of his room. "I'd like that."

"I'll enjoy talking with Shigure again." She smiled, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, my little flower."

It wasn't until she got upstairs that she realized she was still holding the book "Love's Battle." She decided to keep it for now. She had wanted to try one of Shigure's books for a while.

:0:0:

_I think this will be about another two chapter before this one is complete. Maybe long chapters, lol! I'll try not to make the update too long in the making. – Merrow _


	14. Chapter 14

Tooru looked between the library shelves and the card she held in her hand. Somewhere on this shelf was a book on container gardening. Why couldn't she find it?

"Oh, there!" She went up on her tiptoes trying to reach it. It was just beyond the range of her fingertips.

"Oh, let me, Tooru-kun." Fujitsima came up behind her and plucked the book from the shelf. He glanced at it. "This isn't on 18th century poets."

"I already found that." Tooru held up a book of poetry. "Since I found mine already I decided to look for a book to take home with me too."

He handed her the book and smiled. "So Tooru-kun likes gardening."

Tooru wondered if he was trying to say her name as often as he could. He seemed to be. "Yes, very much, though I only became interested recently."

"Oooh, lovebirds among the library stacks." Hisae laughed as she came up the isle. "If this was a manga, books would fall and Maseo would have to save you." She nodded. "And then you'd kiss." She giggled at the twin blushes that lit up their faces. "Oh, Tooru chan, on Friday...you did get permission to go right?"

"Yes," Fujitsima answered before she could even open her mouth. "So, we're going right after school?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to Tooru-chan about. We were thinking we should wear kimonos. Wouldn't that be fun?" Hisae steepled her fingers together. "Akane thought of it."

"I think Tooru-kun would be really cute in a kimono." Fujitsima said grinning. "Is Hisae-chan going to wear her yellow one? Should we guys wear haori?"

"That's what we were thinking." Hisae nodded. "Akane and I talked about it last night. She lives between here and the park, so we thought we'd stop there and dress up. Oh, that reminds me...Tooru-chan what's your cell number? I'll add it to my phone."

"Oh, I don't have a cell phone." Tooru said, "And...um...a kimono..."

"Tooru-chan doesn't have a kimono?" Hisae looked disappointed for a moment, then her face brightened again. "Wait a minute, turn around."

Tooru obediently turned her back to Hisae. The smaller girl put her back to Tooru's. "How much taller is she then me?"

"About..." Fujitsima circled them. "A head taller... Wow, Hisae-chan, you're short."

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." Hisae wrinkled her nose. "But that means Tooru-chan is just about the size of my little sister."

"Little?" Fujitsima looked at her up and down.

"Okay," Hisae conceded, rolling her eyes. "My _younger_ sister. Happy? Enough with the short jokes." She smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "I'll bring one of her kimonos for Tooru-chan."

"That'd be great." Fujitsima grinned. "Don't you think so, Tooru-kun?"

Tooru looked between Hisae and him. Even though they were talking about her, she'd felt like an outsider. Fujitsima was so comfortable and casual with Hisae; it was like he was another person. Kind of like, she thought, how Yuki is different at home then at school. Belatedly she realized they were still waiting for her answer. "Oh, yes! Thank you." She smiled. "It will be like playing dress up!"

"So that's the only change of plans... we'll stop by Akane-chan's then off to the park!" Hisae bounced in place. "I can't wait, I can't believe it's only Wednesday!"

"Okay everybody, if you have your books, we'll be going back to class." The teacher called for everyone's attention. "I'll expect your first drafts on Monday."

Tooru hung back a little and watched Hisae and Fujitsima chatter back and forth. He really was like a different personality, or another side to him. They teased each other back and forth, and his body was relaxed and loose. He glanced back at Tooru and straightened a little. He gave her a smile, but it was different then the easy grin he gave Hisae.

She smiled at him when his face started to fall. She wondered as she checked out her books why was he so different with her? She'd thought he was nice and fun before. Comparing him with how he acted around Hisae and his friends she realized how much he was holding back. Did she do the same around his friends?

:0:0:

Kyou sat at his desk and thought he should have skipped school today. He hadn't done it in a while. He could miss a day and not get in trouble. Well, not with school, Tooru would ask why he wasn't there and he couldn't lie and say he didn't feel well because then she'd be worried. If he said he just didn't want to be there, then she'd give him that disappointed look.

Lunchtime was approaching and he was dreading it. Every time he spoke to Tooru he remembered what the Idiot had said. All he wanted was to pull her away somewhere where they could be alone. Had Yuki said anything to her last night about Fujitsima telling them both to leave her alone? She didn't act like it. She did get really smiley any time the Rat looked at her. She'd said something as they walked to school that morning about painting her secret base and the Rat had blushed and offered her some paints he had. It was gibberish to him, but they were both happy about it, and blushy. He wondered if the Rat had confessed to her...

But if he had, she'd act different around the Idiot wouldn't she? And him? He sighed; he didn't want to think about it. He wanted to go home.

That was it, after lunch he'd ditch and go home. Shigure wouldn't care. And if Tooru asked later he'd say didn't feel well. He wouldn't mind her fussing over him and once he "recovered" she wouldn't worry anymore. Decision made, now he just had to wait for his chance to escape. He propped his book up and put his head down on the desk. The teacher had already given up on him as a hopeless case, so he'd just nap until it was time to go.

"Oi! Orange head." Uotani kicked his desk, jostling him awake. "Lunch."

Kyou blinked at her, he'd fallen into a sound sleep. "Yeah, whatever." He said, rubbing his mouth. He hoped he hadn't drooled. He put his head back down on his arms. He wasn't sure if he was ready to get up yet.

"Kyou-kun shouldn't sleep in class." Tooru said disapprovingly.

Still sleepy, he reached out and mussed her hair. "It's too boring to stay awake."

"Somehow," Yuki said coolly, "the rest of us manage."

"Kyou-kun?" Fujitsima said, staring at him. Kyou followed his line of sight. He still held a lock of Tooru's hair between his fingers. He let it go and stood up.

"Let's go already." He looked at Fujitsima. "Those other guys coming?"

"Not today."

"You guys wanna play cards?" Uo-chan held up a deck as they trooped outside.

"We haven't played Dai Hin Min for a while." Hana-chan agreed.

"If we play," Fujitsima said, "Can we play it the way it's supposed to be played?"

"Whadaya mean?" Kyou said sitting down and opening his lunch. "We play by the rules."

"I mean, whoever wins is supposed to be able to tell the poor man what to do." Fujitsima explained, sitting close to Tooru.

"As long as no one else minds, but considering how bad you play," Uotani said as she dealt out the cards, "I'd think you'd want to forget about that part. But it's your funeral."

"Well..." He answered, picking up his cards. "I've been practicing."

And he had. He almost won it. But in the end, Hanajima ended up the King, with Tooru as the Poor Man.

Hanajima tapped her chin. "Interesting development."

"Dammit, it's not fair. You cheat." Kyou said slapping down his cards.

"It's not Hanajima-san's fault you are so easy to read, baka neko." Yuki said, relieved that she'd won. He was still clumsy at this game, and the last thing he wanted was to be Poor Man to Fujitsima's King. Or worse, have Tooru be Poor Man. Fujitsima'd probably had something in mind to keep her from talking to him.

Hanajima ignored the fight. "So what shall I have Tooru-chan do?" She mused. "Snacks."

"Snacks?" Tooru repeated.

"Tooru-chan will make me snacks for lunch tomorrow." Hana-chan looked dreamily into the sky. "It's been too long since I've eaten our Tooru-chan's cooking."

"Too long?" Uotani said around a mouthful of lunch. "You ate the cookies she baked in home ec this morning, all of them. I don't even think Tooru got one."

"Hisae brought Akira her cookies." Fujitsima said. "He made fun of them though, because they were all lumpy and strange. Hisae is an awful cook."

"Hisae-chan tries hard." Tooru said. "She must have been disappointed when Mitsuwa-kun made fun of her cookies."

"No, it gave them an excuse to fight. Hisae-chan likes fighting." Fujitsima said, smiling at the thought. "And she's good at it. Akira never wins."

"Have you all been friends long?" Uotani asked. "You sound like it."

"It feels like forever. I'm not surprised Akira and Hisae are dating, I'm just surprised it took this long." Fujitsima said and launched into a story of the three of them in elementary school.

Tooru watched him become more animated and lively as he talked about his friends. He'd been the same way on their first date, when he'd talked about his family. He never acted this comfortable with her. Maybe he was as nervous and uncomfortable as she was when they talked and went out? She knew she didn't act the same with him as she did with Hana-chan and Uo-chan, or Yuki or Kyou. She felt that tip of the tongue, almost understanding feeling that she'd had in Shigure's study last night.

"Oi," Kyou tugged on a lock of her hair. Tooru looked over her shoulder at him, startled out of her thoughts. "What are you thinking about so seriously?"

"Nothing." She smiled. Kyou was lounging in the grass, looking like he was ready for another nap. "Was Kyou-kun up late last night? He looks sleepy."

"Yeah, kinda." He yawned and closed his eyes. "I ain't going back to class."

"Skipping? What a delinquent!" Uotani wagged a finger.

"Kyou-kun shouldn't do that! School is important." Tooru said worriedly. "Unless, is Kyou-kun not feeling well?"

"He ate pretty well for somebody who's sick." Uotani pointed to his empty lunchbox.

"Mind your own business Yankee." Kyou said irritably. "Fine. I'll go to class. I won't promise to stay awake."

"What a belligerent child I have." Hana-chan shook her head. "Father and I will have some disciplining to do."

Kyou shot up into a sitting position. "You stay away from Shishou! He's not interested in you."

"Shishou?" Fujitsima said softly to Tooru. She was startled by how close he was to her.

"Shishou-san is the man who raised Kyou-kun." Tooru explained in a whisper. "Hana-chan thinks Shishou-san is very attractive."

"She does?" He looked at Hana. "I wouldn't have thought she noticed stuff like that."

Yuki watched Tooru and Fujitsima whisper together jealously. "Honda-san." He interrupted, noting Fujitsima's dirty look. "Since you are getting home before me tonight, if you want my paints they are in the top drawer of my desk."

"Thank you!" Tooru clapped her hands together. "If I paint it right after I get home, it should be dry by the time Yuki-kun comes back."

"Paint what?" Uo-chan asked, tired of watching Hana-chan and Kyou fight.

"My secret base!" Tooru said excitedly. "It's something like a place of my own."

"Okay." Uo-chan said, used to Tooru's nonsensical statements. "You'll have to show me next time I come over."

"Lunch is over." Hana-chan said standing, "Let's return." She ignored the sputtering Kyou she left behind her.

"Kyou-kun is coming?" Tooru said standing and dusting herself off.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Kyou said getting up reluctantly.

Fujitsima came up beside her and fumbled for her hand. She was a little startled, but let him take it.

"It's good that Kyou-kun is coming back to class, but don't make Tooru-kun late." He stressed her name just a little every time he said it, like he was reminding himself to use it.

Kyou's eyes narrowed a little, noticing the idiot was throwing his own words back at him, but he shrugged it off. "Whatever." He slouched into place on her other side and walked with them to class. The Idiot was really grating on his nerves, he couldn't wait for school to be over. He was regretting his decision to go back to class. He should've ditched and gone over to Shishou's. He would have understood once he explained.

Yesterday he'd examined Kyou's hands and told him to wait at least another week before returning to the punching bag or actual sparring with other partners. But Shishou had taught him a new kata and gone over it with him, one that was really involved and challenging and it had been almost as good as punching something.

Afterwards they'd sat in the kitchen eating slightly burnt fish while Kyou worked up the courage to talk about the situation with Fujitsima, Tooru and Yuki. He'd backed into it slowly.

"So..." He said breaking the silence Shishou always seemed to be happy to maintain. "This Sunday I invited her over here for dinner. She hasn't been for a while." Kyou didn't say who "her" was, there was only one "her."

"That will be pleasant." Shishou smiled. "I'll make soba."

"No way! Your soba is nasty!" Kyou said slapping his hand against the table. "You always over-cook the noodles and its just a big mushy mess. No," he repeated. "We're going to go shopping before we come over and we're cooking." He picked a few of the more burnt flakes of fish off and mumbled. "She said she thought it'd be fun." He glanced at his adoptive father out of the corner of his eye, obviously bursting to say something.

"Mmm." Shishou murmured noncommitally. He waited patiently knowing that he had to let Kyou find his own way to open up or he'd just close up tighter.

"So..." Kyou started again. "That idiot is still following her around."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"This is the person who wrote her?" Shishou said.

"Yeah, and asked her out on a date." Kyou said, and sketched in the details of Fujitsima's courtship of Tooru up to the date they planned for this Friday. "And he told me, and the Rat, that we shouldn't hang around her at school!" He burst at the end, having worked himself up all over again. "The Rat told him off, I didn't see it, but the Idiot told me about it later."

"What was your response?" Shishou asked, gathering his plates together.

Kyou's mouth twisted. "It got all confused. The Idiot was whining about the Rat liking her and I said so what about it... 'cause it's not like what any of us feels matters, right?" He looked up at his teacher as the older man stood and put his plates in the sink.

"How so?" Shishou asked, taking Kyou's plates and putting them in the sink.

"It's her feelings!" Kyou said pounding the table. "That's the only important thing. If she likes the Idiot... then it doesn't matter if we like her."

"Does she have feelings for him?" Shishou asked, noting Kyou had included himself in the group that "liked" Tooru without noticing.

"He wants me to ask." Kyou said sullenly, picking at his bandages. Shishou raised an eyebrow at him. "I was just saying that the Rat wasn't so perfect, and he thought I meant he should keep chasing her around. Idiot." He looked away. "He said she's more comfortable around me and asked me to find out how she feels." He concentrated on the bandages around his hands. "Isn't that stupid?"

"It does seem to be a conversation he should have with her himself." Shishou agreed. "But I am confused on one thing. Why do you think it doesn't matter how you... or Yuki..." he added when Kyou started to protest, "...feel about Tooru? Of course her feelings matter, but why do you dismiss yours?" He hastened to add. "Or Yuki's?"

Kyou blinked. "'Cause!" He said angrily, "It's not like we can, you know, do anything about it. Shigure said Junninshi don't get to have that kind of stuff." He looked away. "That's why I don't get the Rat. Why is he protesting so much? Maybe we should both back off! Give her a chance to have something normal."

"Shigure said that, hmn?" Shishou mused. "I don't know if that's true..."

"What do you mean?" Kyou couldn't help sounding suspicious.

"That the Junninshi don't get to have relationships. My grandfather managed to have my father."

Kyou stared at him. He'd always known that, but he hadn't really thought about it. That meant that the past cat had managed to have some sort of relationship with some person at some point. "But how could he _do_ that?"

"It generally takes more then one person." Shishou reminded him.

"I know that!" Kyou said blushing furiously. "I mean-"

"I meant," Shishou interrupted, "That the feelings of both parties are involved. I have never heard that my grandmother had a problem with his curse. Tooru-kun does not seem to mind it either. As you say...it's her feelings that matter. Perhaps she does not want something 'normal'."

"But she deserves better." Kyou muttered.

"What is better..." His father mused. "I think each person decides that for themselves. Perhaps it is not such a bad idea for you to talk with Tooru-kun about how she feels."

"Is Kyou-kun sleeping with his eyes open?"

Kyou blinked, pulled back to the present. Tooru was looking at him worriedly. "Maybe Kyou-kun should have gone home." Class had thinned; over half of their classmates had gone home or to their after-school clubs. Even Fujitsima was gone.

"Yeah." He said standing, "Nah... I don't need to get in trouble with the teachers any more than I am." He snorted. "I'll just take a nap when we get home."

"Up on the roof?" Tooru smiled as they walked towards the door. "It's nice and sunny out today."

"Yeah," he agreed. He thought about what Shishou had said... "You want to sit with me for a while?" Kyou blurted. "You know, after you're done doing your stuff."

Tooru smiled, Kyou didn't often invite her up to the roof. He never seemed to mind when she popped up on her own, but being invited was a heady feeling. "I'd like that, very much." It was like a chime going of inside her saying now was the time to be happy. "I'll come after I've done my chores."

He just nodded, keeping his eyes on the blue skies above him. He felt a knot begin to form in his stomach. When they sat together he'd ask her how he felt about the idiot.

He glanced around, realizing he hadn't seen the Idiot since lunch. It wasn't like him to let Tooru alone. "So where's the Id- Fujitsima?" Kyou stumbled over his name, nearly slipping and calling him by his not-so-nice nickname.

"Fuji-san," She said speaking slowly like she was making sure to say his name correctly, "has tennis club today."

Tennis club. Kyou snorted. The Idiot was like a poster child for "perfect, normal boyfriend."

"Fuji-san invited me to go watch him play." Tooru said idly, reaching out with a hand to stroke some blooming flowers on a fence as they passed. The flowers swayed under her fingers.

"Why didn't you?" He watched her fingers as they slid over the leaves.

"Well, there are chores..." Tooru said looking a little guilty. "Shigure-san and I are going to try to tidy up his room on Saturday, so the laundry, I wanted to do that early..."

"You could've done that later." Kyou said, watching her squirm. "It's not like we couldn't have gone a week without doing laundry. If you want to go watch him play..." He didn't know why he was pressing it. It wasn't like he wanted her to go. What he wanted was for her to say, no, I don't want to, I want to be here with you... Which was just stupid. Because why would she want to be here with him when she could have a perfect, normal tennis-playing boyfriend like the Idiot?

"I don't really understand tennis." She whispered, blushing furiously.

Kyou stepped forward and opened the gate to the path home, staring at her. "You don't _understand_ tennis? What's to understand? You hit a little ball back and forth, if you don't hit it back you lose."

"Yes." Tooru agreed, walking past him, and looking very serious. "But ...there are all the lines on the court...and the scoring, I get confused." She waited for him to catch up on the path, "And _love_, I don't understand _love_. Does Kyou-kun?"

"_What?_" Kyou gaped at her.

"I don't understand why they say "love" when they say the scores." Tooru said cocking her head at him.

Kyou's heart started beating again, and his face flushed bright red. "It means zero, no points for that side." If it hadn't been Tooru he was dealing with, he'd have thought she was messing with him.

"I wonder why they call it that." She mused as they took off their shoes.

"I don't know."

"But that's why." She said looking up at him as they stood in the narrow hallway.

"Why?" Kyou repeated.

"I didn't go watch Fuji-san play tennis." She blinked at him. "Because I don't understand love and things like that."

"Oh." Kyou said faintly, thinking to himself I give up. "I'm going up to the roof."

"Okay." She smiled, oblivious to what she was doing to him. "I'll join Kyou-kun in a little while." She reached up and touched his forehead with the back of her hand and then quickly cupped the side of his cheek. "Don't lie out in the sun too long...and come inside if it's cold. I think Kyou-kun might be getting ill. He's all red."

Kyou stepped back from her quickly, his face blazing even brighter and even the tips of his ears going deep red. "Yeah. Fine. Okay." He spun on his heel and ran out of the house, forgetting to put his shoes back on.

She shook her head and bit her lip. She looked at the tip of her fingers as she walked up the stairs, deep in thought. Ever since her conversation with Shigure last night, she felt like she was hyperaware of her skin. Her fingers were tingling where she'd touched Kyou's face. His forehead had been cool, but she could still feel the heat on his cheeks. She touched her own cheeks, felt an answering heat, and realized she was blushing.

She put her book bag on her desk and sat down. Why did two seconds of contact with Kyou make more of a reaction with her then all the times Fujitsima held her hand? She looked at her palm, trying to recreate what she'd felt when he'd taken it at lunch. His hand had been dry and soft, threading and wrapping around her fingers. All she could remember of the sensation was a faint discomfort at having to keep his pace while their hands were linked. She sighed and looked up.

Her gaze rested on the little pots on the windowsill and she felt her lips tug up onto a little smile. Her secret base. She decided to get the paints to decorate it and do that before anything else so it would have plenty of time to dry. She got up and walked out into the hall and to Yuki's room.

She rested her hand on the doorknob, feeling a little flip in her stomach. She'd never been in his room while he wasn't there, in any of the Souma's rooms. It felt like an invasion of their privacy. But he'd said she could borrow the paints... she opened the door and stepped inside. Still feeling guilty, she pushed the door so it was almost shut. She found herself tiptoeing and holding her breath. She forced herself to move normally and walked over to the desk. She glanced around, the room felt alien without Yuki in it.

His room was tidy, more or less, with spots of chaos. She smiled to see a haphazard pile of papers covering his desk. Yuki was so organized at school she knew her classmates would be shocked to see how messy he could be. He'd gotten better over the months, confining his mess to his desk and dresser top but when she'd first moved in there had been clothes, dirty plates, and trash everywhere. He'd been as bad as Shigure! She suspected he made an effort to keep his room neat because he knew it bothered her, but he couldn't curb the chaos of his desk. She resisted the urge to tidy it herself and reached for the top drawer. It caught on a couple of the over-hanging mess and there was a small avalanche as a clump of papers slid to the floor.

"Oh!" Tooru tsked and bent to pick them up. She piled them up and rapped them on the floor to straighten them. A small piece fell out and lay on the floor. She picked it up and smiled. It was a photo of her and Yuki at school. She tried to place when it was taken, but couldn't remember it. It looked like the first day of the semester; Yuki had his student council armband on and a clipboard. She was smiling up at him and he was smiling down at her, it looked like they were talking about something. It was a good picture. His smile wasn't quite the same as the one he gave her at home or in the garden, but it was freer then how he usually looked at school. She wondered where Yuki had gotten it.

She smiled to herself. She'd been wondering how she could repay Yuki for her secret base, now she had an idea. She put the papers on the top of his pile and took the paints out and ran back to her room. She took one of her photos of her mother on her desk and took the picture out.

"I'll get you a new one tomorrow." She promised and slid the picture of Yuki and herself into the frame. It was a perfect fit. She grinned and ran back to his room. There was a clear place on his bedside table and she placed it standing up facing the bed a little, where he'd be sure to see it eventually.

She closed the door behind her, smiling at the warm feeling she had. It was that warm buttery feeling that made her feel happy and content. She took her secret base and sat at her desk. Carefully she wrote out "Honda Tooru's Secret Base" on the side of the tray in Kanji. She'd never be praised for her calligraphy, but it was neat and tidy. After a moment's thought she added a star to either side of the writing. She tapped her chin with the brush handle, wanting to add something else, but not wanting to make it look too busy either. She picked up one of the little pots and grinned. She turned it over and painted a little mouse on the bottom. She painted a dog one and a cat on the third. After a moments thought she painted an onigiri on the bottom of the last one. One for each member of the house, she thought, and it would be her little secret. The paint dried quickly so she was able to put the pots right-side up and back on the tray before she left the room.

She changed out of her uniform and went downstairs. She washed out her paintbrush in the laundry room tub and put in a quick load of clothes in the washer. She wandered into the kitchen and decided to get out the things to make supper to save time later on. Then she took some tea to Shigure's study. He was deep into a new story and seemed startled she was home. He often lost track of time when he was working. She poured him some tea and chatted for a little while before letting him get back to work. By the time she was done the laundry had finished and it took her only moments to hang it up. She could see Kyou's feet on the edge of the roof, his socks filthy. She sighed. They'd have to wait till next week to be washed. She quickly reviewed her mental to-do list.

All chores done, she was free to join Kyou up on the roof. She walked put her jacket on and sighed when she saw Kyou's still on the coat rack. She put on her shoes, slung his jacket over her arm and walked around to the ladder to the roof. She climbed up and peeped over the edge. Kyou had an arm slung over his eyes and she took a moment to just watch him. He was sprawled out as if he was trying to absorb as much of the sun as possible. A cool wind blew over them, ruffling his hair and making Tooru shiver.

"Kyou-kun." She said softly, trying not to startle him.

He lifted his arm, peeking out at her. "Oi, took you long enough."

"Sorry." She apologized as she crawled onto the roof. She could tell he wasn't really upset. "It's chilly out, Kyou-kun should be wearing a jacket." She held out his coat.

"I'm fine." He said, but shrugged it on to make her happy.

Tooru sat down and inched over. She'd gotten used to the height of the roof, but she still didn't like to walk across it. She was so clumsy she was sure she'd trip over her own feet and slip off. She smiled at Kyou as she slid into place next to him. He leaned back on his hands, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

How exactly should he bring up the Idiot? He couldn't just blurt out that Fujitsima wanted to know how she felt, and he didn't want her to know that he was just as curious. Tooru looked contentedly out across the lawn and woods behind the house. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world.

"So, uh..." he said awkwardly, "Are you looking forward to this weekend?"

"Oh yes!" Tooru said grinning at him. "I haven't seen Shishou-san in a long time. I was thinking we should make cutlets. I bet Shishou-san doesn't make them often."

"Yeah." Kyou's mouth quirked at the thought. If Shishou tried something like that they'd be charcoal. Cooking was not a skill he possessed. "What about... uh... Friday?"

"Friday?" Tooru repeated, the smile slipping off her face for a moment before returning. It was dimmed and false looking to Kyou.

"Are you looking forward to Friday too?" He asked watching her closely. She didn't look unhappy, but she never seemed comfortable talking about the Idiot. Was it because of how she felt for the Idiot or because he was asking?

"Yes. It should be fun." She gave a firm nod like she was telling herself it would be.

"You don't sound very excited." Kyou said, his voice sounding sour to himself.

Tooru blinked at him and then looked at her fingers obviously unsure on how to respond.

"I thought girls got all giddy and stupid about going on dates." He said after a minute. "You just seem kind of blah about it."

"Do I?" She said faintly.

"Yeah, like you're just doing it because you were asked, not cause you really want to." Kyou tried to organize his thoughts out loud, trying to put a verbal finger on what bothered him about the way she was acting.

"Well..." Tooru said slowly, thinking it over. "I suppose I think it would be more fun if everyone was going."

"Everyone?" Kyou asked.

"Yes, if Uo-chan, Hana-chan, Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun were coming too..." She smiled. "And Kisa-chan and Hiro-kun, I haven't seen them in a while... I bet Kagura-chan would enjoy it..." She started to sound much more eager. "Momiji-kun and Hatsuharu-kun-"

"Stupid!" Kyou burst, "You're going on a _date_ you can't bring all those people on a _date_."

Tooru blinked and then flushed, "Oh." She curled up putting her chin on top of her knees and frowned at the treetops in front of her. "Yes. I know... I only thought it would be more fun that way."

"Don't you want to spend time with just the Id...er. Fujitsima?" Kyou said, and tried to sound casual.

"It's not going to be just Fujit... Fuji-san and I." She reminded him. "Hisae-chan and Mitsuwa-kun are going to be there. And Akane-san and ..." She frowned trying to remember Akane's boyfriend's name.

"Well, yeah, but everybody's going to pair off, so it'll be mostly just you and him." Kyou tried to not let how much that thought upset him show.

"Really?" Tooru said sounding worried.

"That's how it usually works, I think." Kyou said.

She looked at him earnestly. "But don't you think he'd want to talk to his friends? We talk all the time at school."

"Idiot." Kyou said angrily. "He's going out on a date with you, because he wants to spend more time with you. When a guy likes a girl he wants to be around her, and talk to her, and listen to her talk-" He stopped before he could finish that thought - and touch her, like I want to with you.

"Shigure-san said it's like being hungry." Tooru said, "That liking someone is like always wanting to have more of them."

"That sounds right- Wait, you talked to Shigure?" Kyou turned to look at her straight on.

"Last night." Tooru nodded, blushing. "Fuji-san asked me to be his girlfriend." Her eyes slid away from his. "I don't know what to answer." She had planned not to talk about this with Yuki or Kyou, but it just kind of popped out, and she found herself wondering what his reaction would be.

Kyou felt a physical pain in his chest as his heart-stopped -_Fuji-san asked me to be his girlfriend_- and started again - _I don't know what to answer._ "No wonder he's been so jealous lately." The words slipped out before he was even conscious of thinking them.

Tooru straightened, he head coming up so fast she made herself dizzy. "What?"

"Uh..." Kyou said intelligently.

"What does Kyou-kun mean?" Tooru asked.

Kyou shook his head. "It's nothing..." he started but the perplexed look on her face made him shrug and say, "Just that he, uh, asked me if I'd find out how you felt about him..."

"He did?" Tooru said, her stomach starting to feel achy and cramped. She looked at Kyou. Is that why he'd invited her up to the roof? She felt tricked. All through her chores she'd had a happy warm feeling because he'd invited her to spend time with him. Her mind raced through their conversation, amplifying where he'd gotten upset. Kyou didn't like that she wasn't excited about going with Fujitsima, he'd gotten mad when she'd suggested it would be more fun with more people. It was like he wanted her to be with Fujitsima. "Dinner." She said numbly. "I should go start it." She crawled towards the ladder.

She felt tears pooling in the back of her eyes and she wanted to be gone before they came. She didn't even understand why she was so upset. Kyou was just being a good friend to Fujitsima. It shouldn't feel like a kick to the stomach that he could ask so casually how she felt about another boy. Its like, she thought to herself, it doesn't matter how I feel about it to him. And why should it? Except that it hurt to think he didn't. _"Why does this hurt so much?"_ She thought.

"Wait-" Kyou started.

"I'll call Kyou-kun when it's ready." Tooru kept her head down as she started down the ladder.

"But-"

"I'm making fish! Kyou-kun's favorite." She called up from the bottom, and then she was gone, disappearing into the house.

"Aw, crap." Kyou muttered and flung himself flat on the roof. Damn that Idiot, his stupid letters, dates and questions.

Tooru raced to the kitchen and pulled out an onion, not even bothering to take her jacket off and leaving her shoes in a tumble by the door. She grabbed her cutting board and a knife and hacked into it. The pungent fumes rose up and she finally let her tears fall. She'd decide what to use the onions for when she was done.

_Why am I crying?_

Because I'm a silly girl. Tooru answered herself, chopping the onion fine. She'd gotten all excited that Kyou had invited her to visit the roof when really he just wanted to ask questions for Fujitsima's sake. It wasn't his fault she was so stupid as to believe he'd actually wanted to spend time with her.

She sniffled and looked at the pile of onions she'd cut. There were way too many to use for anything tonight. She pulled out a Tupperware container and shoveled more than half of it into it. She'd have to look through her cookbooks for something to use them in before they went bad. She gave a deep sigh. She hated crying. It made her eyes itch and her face blotchy. Everyone would _know_ she cried. She blew her bangs out of her eyes and went about making dinner, taking comfort in focusing on everyday tasks instead of worrying about boys and confused feelings. She'd fry the onion with the fish, and maybe add some peppers... It would be an experiment. She'd just make sure to make enough side dishes that if it turned out bad everyone would have other choices.

Tooru pulled the fish out and made sure everything was ready to start before taking a quick trip to the bathroom to splash a little water on her face and to hang up her jacket. She was being foolish, getting this worked up over nothing. Her mother would have laughed at her, and mussed her hair, and told her she was thinking too much. When she was little she used to fret about her friendships. Being bullied had made her doubt her self-worth, and she'd worry if she was being a good and proper friend or imposing her own feelings on other people who wouldn't want them.

"You can't impose your feelings on others." Her mother had said. "Each person is responsible for their own feelings. If you like someone, tell them. It's up to them to decide how to deal with it. Be honest, or you'll make yourself miserable, even more then if the person doesn't feel the same way."

Fujitsima seemed to believe the same thing. He reminded her of her mother, the way he always said what he thought and how he felt. He'd done just what her mother recommended and was waiting now for her answer. She sighed as she mechanically started making dinner. It wasn't so much that he was pressuring her. He hadn't asked for her answer, even though she knew she should soon, it seemed like everyone else was just as eager for her answer. Hisae-chan, Kyou-kun...

"Dinner smells good."

Tooru started, looking over her shoulder. "Yuki-kun!" She smoothed her hands over her apron, looking up at the clock. "Home already?"

"I told you it would be a quick meeting today." He smiled. It had been an amazingly fast meeting, he'd basically gone in and told everyone what he expected them to do for the next week, shot down any arguments, and left everything else up to Nao. He couldn't remember ever seeing him look so happy, he reminded himself to pass more responsibility to the younger boy. He looked around the counter. "It looks like you're almost finished as well. Why don't I go set the table?"

"It's a little early yet." She demurred. "I haven't started frying the fish yet. But why doesn't Yuki-kun keep me company?"

Yuki was startled into a smile. "Okay, let me just drop my bag off upstairs and change. " Tooru was always generous with her time, but he'd always gotten the impression she wanted to be just left alone to work when she was in the kitchen. He tried not to seem too eager as he quickly went upstairs, taking them at a normal pace. Once he got into his room he couldn't hold back, wrenching his tie off and throwing off his shirt. He reached into his drawers pulling out a shirt at random and throwing it on the bed. He started to pull out a pair of pants when something at his bedside caught his attention. He froze, staring at the picture standing on the table.

"How..." He mouthed, picking it up. It was the picture he'd confiscated from the photography club. He'd been going around visiting as part of the student council when he'd happened to see it. The girl who had taken it, a member of the Prince Yuki fanclub had been discussing how to crop out Tooru without cutting too much of himself out of the photo. He'd confiscated it, and the negative, falling back on a rarely enforced rule in the photography club charter stating model releases were required for any photographs of people. He'd meant to put it away into his box, but it had gotten lost in the papers of his desk. How had it gotten into a picture frame at his bedside table?

He sat down on the edge of his bed, staring at the photograph. This frame was familiar...it was one of Tooru's. One of her pictures of her mother had been in it. He glanced at the desk trying to work out how the picture had gone from being lost in the depths of his desk to his bedside table. The top drawer was ajar, just a little bit, and comprehension dawned.

Tooru.

She must have found it when she came in for the paints. Yuki felt his face begin to burn. What must she be thinking?

But... she couldn't have been too offended by it. She'd put it in a picture frame, one of her mother's picture frames. Did she like the thought of him having a picture of her? He carefully set it back on the table, just as she placed it so it was facing the bed. It'd be the first thing he saw in the morning and the last thing he saw at night.

He changed his clothes, his movements mechanical and slow as he thought what this all meant. Is this why she'd invited him to keep her company? Did she realize, finally, what he felt for her? Was this her way of saying she felt the same way too?

Tooru pulled out the frying pan and wrinkled her nose. This was the part she disliked the most, frying the fish. There really was no way of avoiding the smell.

"Honda-san..."

She glanced over at the door with a smile. "I'm just about to start frying the fish. I'm sorry if the smell is unpleasant," she said to Yuki. She turned back to the pan and started to turn on the gas burner.

"Honda-san..." Yuki repeated stepping in. "Before you do that... I was wondering..." His cheeks were rosy, but he managed to keep his voice steady. "...this..."

He held up the picture frame. Tooru smiled. "I hope Yuki-kun doesn't mind. It fell off when I was getting the paints. I know it's not the to the same level, and it's used, but please accept it as a thank you for my secret base." She paused and her brows came together in a worried v, "It doesn't bother Yuki-kun, does it? I didn't mean to go through his things."

"Not at all!" Yuki said quickly. "I'm surprised Honda-san wasn't bothered... that I had a picture of her, I mean."

Tooru cocked her head. "Bothered? I have pictures of Yuki-kun, in my album. Does that bother Yuki-kun?"

"N-no." Yuki was ashamed of how his voice stuttered. Honda did take pictures now and then, mostly when they were in a group with her friends and Kyou, he hadn't really thought about what she did with them later. Did she have a box of Yuki-memories? "A-actually, it makes me very happy." He looked up at her, "I'd like to see Honda-san's albums sometime."

She smiled brightly. "That would be fun! I haven't gone through them for a while and it will be nice to reminisce. Ever since Ayame-san showed us his albums, I've been trying hard to make mine as nice. I find it very relaxing." She turned the gas on and started the fish frying. She scraped in some of the onions, talking to distract herself from the smell and the memory of her tears. "Does Yuki-kun have other photos? Maybe we can put together an album for him." She looked up and sucked in her breath. He'd stepped close while she was working and was almost right by her elbow.

"I'd like that very much." He said softly, searching her face. "I-I don't have many though..."

"Extras..." Tooru said, it was hard to form complete sentences with him so close and with him studying her with those deep purple eyes. "I...um... have some photos that Yuki-kun can have. Of...of all of us, and Yuki-kun and I-"

"Has Honda-san been crying?" Yuki's eyes were darting over her face. He'd been surprised at her invitation to keep her company, and then the photo, that he hadn't really noticed at first. His hand came up to stroke her cheek, smoothing the skin under her eye with his thumb, his worry making him bold. "Your eyes are red, and-" She stepped back, out of his touch. "Did you hurt yourself?" He glanced down at her hands for bandages.

Taking two rapid steps back, Tooru held up her hands. Her face blazed a blotchy red, further proof that she'd been crying. "No, no... Well, a little." She admitted. "But I'm not hurt...O-onion-san..." she stuttered, "Always makes me cry." She gestured to the chopped onion waiting to go into the pan.

"Onion-san?" Yuki glanced at the pile and then back to her. She was holding back something. He could tell. He stepped closer again. "Is that really all that happened?"

Tooru looked down and fiddled with her hands. "The fish will burn if I don't tend it." She said softly, not answering his question.

Sighing, Yuki stepped back. He felt let down. "Okay." He looked at the photo in his hand. He'd hoped she'd actually trust him with something important. But, at least they'd gotten a little bit closer.

"That picture..." Tooru said after a moment of awkward silence. "if it's possible, and not too much of a bother, could I have a copy?"

"I have the negative," Yuki said, "It's not a bother." Unable to help himself he asked a little plaintively. "Honda-san really wants one?"

"Oh, yes, Yuki-kun is smiling so nicely. It's a very good picture." Tooru glanced at Yuki and then stared. He was looking at her in shock and his face was an undignified tomato red.

"H-honda-san f-flatters me." He said trying to regain some measure of his composure. He set the picture face down on the counter, unable to look at her smiling at him from two directions.

Tooru felt a flip in her stomach, seeing how much a simple compliment was able to fluster him. She would have thought, what with the Prince Yuki fanclub always fawning over him, he would be used to hearing such things. She scraped the onion and peppers over the fish and stirred them around to maximize the flavor. She peered at him through her lashes; his blush was beginning to fade. "I like it when Yuki-kun smiles." She said and watched his color brighten all over again.

"It looks like Honda-san is almost done." Yuki said turning away from her so she wouldn't see his furious blush. "I'll go set the table."

"After dinner..." Tooru said, before he could go, resisting the urge to step close to him to see if the blush really did extend to the roots of his hair, "Yuki-kun and I will set up my secret base? I think the paint is already dry."

"Yes." Yuki said, distracting himself by gathering together chopsticks and place settings.

"I've been looking forward to it all day." Tooru admitted to his back, dusting some seasoning over the fish. She hoped the fish would turn out well; she wasn't really following a recipe.

"Why?"

Tooru looked over at him. "It will be nice to have it all set up. Then it will really feel like my very own special place." She smiled a little wider. "Plus, I get to spend more time with Yuki-kun."

Feeling his face burn brighter, he fled into the other room to set the table.

Dinner ended up being a strained affair. Tooru couldn't look at Yuki without him blushing, Kyou couldn't look at Tooru without her wilting, and Shigure couldn't help but tease all three. Yuki and Kyou could both sense that something had happened between the other and Tooru and bickered back and forth more than usual. Afterwards Kyou approached Tooru as they carried their dishes into the kitchen.

"Oi... Um..." Kyou started. "About earlier..."

"Earlier?" Tooru tried to keep smiling. She felt so foolish for getting so upset, over nothing, but she couldn't help it. She'd been so happy that he'd invited her up to the roof... It wasn't his fault she'd misunderstood.

"It's not like..." He struggled, "Look... It's just that... I can't tell how you feel about him."

Tooru blinked at him, filling up the sink with water and putting their dishes in it.

"I didn't mean to..." Kyou was pretty sure that complete sentences were beyond his ability right now. "You left."

"Dinner." Tooru said weakly, looking into the soapy water and scrubbing at a plate. "I didn't want it to be late."

"Yeah, but..." Kyou said shuffling his feet, and taking the dish from her to dry. "When I said that he asked me how you felt... It's not like I meant that I wanted to know because of that. But you left before I could explain." Tooru just stared at him. "I wasn't... I mean, I wasn't planning to ask. That's your business. And his. It just kinda happened."

Her business. Tooru's shoulders drooped. She washed another plate. She shouldn't be hurt that Kyou didn't consider it his business. She didn't even know why she felt he should...

"But I do wanna know." Kyou muttered, not meeting her eyes. "Cause you don't look happy." He put the dry dishes into the cupboard.

"What?" Tooru said, startled and not sure if she heard right.

"You don't look happy. Girls are supposed to get, you know, happy and excited about dates. You always look like you're trying real hard to be happy, but it shouldn't be work." Kyou stared at his feet. "If... well you shouldn't do anything unless you really want to. Not just because you think you should, you know?"

Tooru looked at him, wondering at the strange light headed feeling of relief that washed over her. She looked down and realized her hands were still in the sink, but the dishes were all washed.

"So?"

She blinked realizing he was looking at her expectantly.

"So?" She repeated hesitantly, wiping her hands on a dishcloth.

"How do you feel about the Idiot?" He shook his head and blushed, "I mean, Fujitsima. I won't tell him!"

"I don't know." She said honestly. "Fujit... Fuji-san is a very nice person. And... It feels good to know someone likes you." She said looking at her feet. "And..." She looked up at Kyou and whispered the next part. "I don't have any reason not to like him."

"But..." Kyou said. "You shouldn't need a reason. It doesn't work like that."

"It doesn't?" Tooru said.

"No!" Kyou put his hands on his hips. "It's not like you should be making lists in your head of reasons to love a person or not to love a person. It should just..." he waved a hand in around in the air. "..._be there_...before you know it."

"What should be there?" Tooru asked, fascinated.

"The feeling!" Kyou spat. "You know, that feeling that makes you want to be with someone and make them happy when they're not. Or that makes you happy just being around them, or happy because they're happy. And you get upset when they do. That feeling! Like you're not just one person anymore, you're two."

Tooru blurted out the only thought in her head, "Has Kyou-kun been in love before?"

"What!" Kyou yelled. "What!" His face matched his hair as he realized what he'd said out loud. "Forget it! Do what you want!" He ran out of the kitchen.

"Baka neko, stop yelling in the house!" Yuki shouted as Kyou pushed past him. He looked into the kitchen. "Honda-san? Did that idiot say something stupid?"

"No, no." Tooru assured him, feeling light-hearted and happy. Kyou did care! She'd just misunderstood.

"Shall we go set up your secret base?" He blushed a little as he asked which made her stomach flip-flop pleasantly.

"Yes! Please!" She said and let him lead the way up to her room.

It was an easy process; even she probably could have figured it out on her own. Each pot got a helping of soil and then seeds buried at various depths. They required different amounts of water, which Yuki patiently explained how to tell when they'd need it. Soon they had the little pots sitting on the window sill. Tooru sat at her desk happily staring at them.

"They're not going to grow faster if you stare at them harder." Yuki said, having relaxed enough to tease a little like he did when they were in his garden. "They'll take a while to sprout after all."

"I know." Tooru said, not taking her eyes off them. "I just want to see the instant they poke through."

"It will be days." Yuki reminded her, not sure how serious she was. "They'll need a little sun at least."

She turned to him and smiled. "I know. It will just be so exciting to check and look every morning."

"It will be amazing." Yuki agreed. "One day, nothing and then the next, there it is. A brand new little plant. But, by the time you notice it, it's already been there for a while, working it's way out of it's seed and putting down strong roots."

Tooru turned back to her window garden and stroked the mouth of one of the pots with a finger. "It sounds like love."

"What?" Yuki said startled.

"Shigure-san, and Kyou-kun too, both said that it happens without you realizing it. Shigure-san said it was like a tingle on the skin or a hunger, and that you feel it before you know what it is. Like a seed putting down roots. And Kyou-kun said it was a feeling that was just there; something that made you want to make someone else happy. Something like that can't come out of nowhere, right? So it must be like a plant that's wrapped itself around your heart." She looked up at him, and shook her head. "I don't understand it yet really. But maybe there is a plant inside me that's putting down roots and I don't even know it yet."

"Then... if that's true..." Yuki said, sitting on the edge of her bed, so caught in the analogy of love putting down roots that he ignored that she'd been talking to Kyou and Shigure about love. "Maybe love won't grow until its given attention."

Tooru looked at him, wondering why his voice sounded so strange, like it had gone slightly deeper or into a different register. She couldn't put her finger on it. It made her shiver.

"Plants need water, and sunlight, and room to grow." He looked at her. "Love is that way too, I think. Love needs someone to care for it and feed it and give it warmth, otherwise it won't grow." It made sense to him; she was like his sun, his rain, his soil.

Turning toward him in her chair she leaned forward. "Maybe that's why it takes two people. Kyou-kun said it feels like you're two people instead of one. Maybe it's because you're tending the seed in the other person's heart." She covered her heart with her hands. "Shigure-san said there are lots of kinds of love... so there must be many kinds of seeds. I think I must be full of them."

Yuki's lips quirked up as he leaned forward, "So Honda-san is a garden."

Tooru looked at him reproachfully. "So is Yuki-kun, a garden full of plants."

Her hair tickled the back of his hand; they'd come so close together. He twined it around his finger. "I think I'd rather be the gardener." He looked up at her, his purple eyes liquid.

Her breath caught, he was so beautiful in that one gesture. Then he blushed and the magical prince aura shattered as he stood awkwardly. "I mean... that is..." He stammered, he couldn't believe how his mouth had run away with him. "I'm glad Honda-san likes the garden. It's late. I'll see Honda-san tomorrow."

Tooru looked back at her pots wondering when she'd know for sure that the plants had broken through.

:0:0:

_Okay... I've got almost another full chapter done, but I figured I could post this one on it's own. It's almost done! The last chapter is going to either a super-sized long one or broken up into two parts. -- Merrow_


	15. Sprouts

Both boys were so embarrassed the next day that they couldn't bear to talk to her. They rushed through their breakfasts, making excuses to leave early. Tooru was a little surprised, but was distracted by the opportunity to talk to Shigure alone. She wanted to hear his opinion on her plant theory.

"Mmmm..." Shigure said over his paper. "Seeds of love planted in hearts, blooming under attention and care into loving gardens. My little flower should think about being a poet." He grinned. "Wearing a kimono everyday writing prose in pretty calligraphy, with a brush pen with thick black ink." He smiled dreamily. "And in the afternoons, ikebana for inspiration."

"I'm not creative like Shigure-san." Tooru waved a hand as if wiping his imaginings from the air. "And I don't own a kimono."

"You don't?" Shigure said surprised. He looked at her seriously. "Every Japanese girl should own a kimono."

"Kimono are expensive." Tooru said simply. "And, I don't need one... though I'll be wearing one tomorrow. I'm going to borrow one from Hisae-chan's sister."

"A borrowed kimono." Shigure said, looking pained and teary. "Ne, ne... Saturday, after we clean up my study, I'll take you shopping. I'll buy you a kimono, okay?"

"Oh, I couldn't accept something like that." Tooru protested.

"But..." The dog wilted under Tooru's "determined" face. "I do think Tooru-kun's analogy is a good one... But..."

Tooru leaned forward over the table eagerly, "But?"

"Not all seeds take root, each seed needs a specific type of soil and care." He wagged a finger. "A cactus will die in wet, rich soil. There are ferns that shrivel up and die under too much attention, and a willow tree will die if not almost constantly watered. So for those seeds to grow and thrive they have to find just the right place to sprout." He spread his hands. "I think the seeds of the heart would be even more chancy."

"Why?" Tooru asked, fascinated. That almost there feeling was back, pushing at her like a hand between her shoulder blades.

"Because we hoard our seeds. Plants in the wild, they know to survive they must cast their seeds as far out as possible and throw them everywhere and hope they sprout." He put a hand over his heart. "We're not so generous, we're afraid that out seeds won't grow or that they aren't wanted and will be plucked out. So we wait and cast them only when we think it's safe." He shook his head. "But we don't know what soil we need, and many times we guess wrong. After all, we don't even know what kind of seeds we have. We could be cactus people throwing our seeds in wet soil."

"Or willow trees throwing our seeds in the desert." Tooru said. "So, sometimes, then... since people are both the plants and the earth, we could have seeds that can't grow? Because we're the wrong soil for it to grow in." She looked distressed.

"Or, there are some plants that can grow anywhere, but can hurt the places it grows in. Like Ivy will crumble a building, and there are some plants that strangle all others so that nothing else can grow." He shook his head. "But once something like that takes root, it's hard to pluck it out. Love is a dangerous thing, people get so scared of the bad things that could happen that they keep their seeds close."

"And do people... " Tooru asked, "...sometimes not tend the seeds they're given? Because they think they might grow into something bad?" She felt a throb in her heart. "That's so sad."

"People aren't just afraid that it might grow into something bad." Shigure agreed. "But also, that it might be something good that they can't keep alive." He grinned trying to lighten the mood. "Not everyone has a green thumb. Sometimes a person can have the right soil and have gotten the right seed, but the plant can't take root for any reason we can see. How sad that must be. So people build walls around their gardens, keeping out new seeds, even if it means nothing can grow." He looked up. "Ah, my little flower will be late for school if she doesn't go soon."

"Oh!" Tooru looked at the time. "Thank you for talking with me again, Shigure-san!" She said as she rose.

Shigure looked at her curiously as he rose to walk her to the door. "Do you think all this is helping? All this..." He waved a hand, "study into the nature of love?"

Tooru smiled from the doorway. "I think so. If nothing else, it makes me appreciate the garden I have inside me already." She put her hand over her heart. "I feel like I must be bursting with plants, the special seeds everyone has trusted me with. All this talking with Shigure-san has made me think he must be a handsome plant." She paused. "Maybe a tree."

Shigure laughed. "Well, I think Tooru-chan must be some kind of hardy wild flower... because her seeds are taking root everywhere. Even inside this dried up old garden."

Tooru blushed.

"Go and come back safely, my little flower." Shigure said waving her out the door. He watched her disappear down the path. Once she was well out of sight he walked to the hallway phone. He dialed a few numbers and grinned as it picked up halfway through the first ring. "Aya, my love, I have to tell you the most tragic story."

:0:0:

The morning sped by; Tooru forcefully thrust the lingering thoughts of seedlings and gardens out of her head, focusing on class. At lunch, with their party tomorrow afternoon, Hisae, Akira and the other couple Akane and Miki joined Fujitsima and Tooru's friends as they sat outside. Yuki and Kyou hung back unwilling to let Tooru alone with Fujitsima if they could help it, but still unsure after last night how to speak with her.

"Hisae is going to drop her sandwiches off at my house tomorrow morning." Akane said, leaning back against her boyfriend's arm. "You're buying onigiri, right Maseo-kun?"

"Yeah, I figured while you guys were getting dressed after school, Akira and I will go pick up that, the sticky buns and some tea." Fujitsima nodded.

"You guys want anything stronger then tea?" Miki asked. "I can get my older brother to buy." He was a tall boy, with shaggy hair tied back at the nape of his neck. He wore his school uniform top open and a white t-shirt un-tucked beneath. He slouched lazily next to Akane, speaking rarely. He made Tooru uncomfortable.

"Nah." Akira said quickly. "My mom's going to be home that night and she can smell that like 5 miles away. I don't want this to be the only time I'm allowed out this spring."

"Besides, I think alcohol tastes nasty." Hisae agreed, making a face. Tooru breathed a sigh of relief and didn't notice that Yuki and Kyou had tensed and relaxed too.

"You just haven't tried anything good." Miki shrugged. "Tea is fine though."

"Tooru-chan," Akane said, looking over at her, but not straightening up. "Do you have a curfew?"

"Well, um..." Tooru said, "not really..."

"Oh, good." She grinned. "We found out there is going to be a cherry blossom festival at a shrine not far from Hisae's house this weekend. We thought we might stop by after viewing the flowers."

"I haven't been to a festival in a long time!" Tooru said. "That should be fun."

"Don't stay out too late." Hanajima chided.

"Yeah." Uo-chan said around a mouthful of sandwich. "You're not working this weekend are you?"

"No, well, I have chores... but I'm not working." She assured them. "And I won't stay out too late."

"Busy little bee." Miki said with a little smirk. Tooru's smile dimmed a little.

"Better to be busy then lazy." Fujitsima snapped. "Tooru-kun works really hard." He put his hand over hers reassuringly. She glanced at their hands and then at him.

"Whatever." Miki said dismissively. "So we'll buy tea and junk while you girls," He poked Akane in the side making her giggle, "get all pretty. Then we'll hang with the flowers for a while then walk over to the festival, sound good?"

"Sounds good to me," Akira said agreeably.

"Okay then, I'm gonna jet." Miki said getting to his feet. "I gotta see some people if I'm gonna have money to treat my girl." He grinned at Akane who pouted but let him go.

Fujitsima watched him go with a frown. "What does he mean by that?"

"You're so dense." Akira said, "He's going to go shake down first years or something."

"He is not!" Akane said hotly. "He lent some money to people and he's just getting it back."

"At 50 interest." Hisae crossed her arms. "He's a junior loan shark."

"It's not his fault you're always borrowing money!" Akane said.

"I'm not always borrowing money." Hisae said firmly. "I borrowed money _once_ and spent three months paying it back!"

"You should dump him, Akane." Fujitsima said seriously. "He's not good enough for you."

Akane stood up angrily. "Says the guy whose girlfriend already has two boyfriends!" She stomped off.

Fujitsima went white.

"Uh, that's our cue." Hisae said, tugging on Akira's arm. "We'll see you guys tomorrow. _Come on!_" She hissed at Akira.

"I'm so sorry!" Fujitsima said turning to Tooru. "She didn't mean it, she was just mad at me. We've been arguing ever since she started dating that jerk."

"It's okay." Tooru said, her face red. Two boyfriends? Who could they mean? She looked at Yuki and Kyou who'd risen when Akane had yelled. "Oh."

"See," Fujitsima said, "This is why I said maybe you shouldn't walk with Souma-kun and Kyou-kun to school. People get weird ideas."

"Because we walk together...?" Tooru repeated.

"And, because you're together all the time," he said. "Always."

"Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are my friends." She said softly.

Fujitsima ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "But they're not really friends with anyone else. So people talk. So maybe you should, you know, not be so...um, friendly with them all the time." He looked at the boys who'd come up behind her. "You see? This is why I told you guys to back off a little."

"Fuji-san did?" Tooru said stepping back from him and looking between Yuki and Kyou. They didn't say anything but she could tell from their expressions that he had. "But Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are my _friends._"

"Which is why I didn't listen to him, Honda-san." Yuki said coolly. The bell rang signaling the end of lunch. "We should go back."

"Let's," Hana-chan stepping to one side of Tooru.

Uo-chan stepped on her other side. "You were right, we shoulda made him walk across fire or something," She said to Hana over Tooru's head.

"There is still time." Hana-chan said placidly.

:0:0:

Fujitsima was waiting for her at the end of the day, standing with a sullen looking Akane. Yuki had been called to the teacher's office to talk about some task the student council had pending, but Kyou hung around to walk her out. He gave them a dirty look and made a point of staying in earshot.

Tooru shifted uncomfortably, feeling like she was being pulled every which way.

"I'm sorry." Fujitsima said, "I really am. I didn't mean to make you mad."

Akane had the grace to look apologetic. "And I didn't mean what I said. I just said it because I knew it would make Maseo mad."

"I'm not mad." Tooru said truthfully. She'd been thinking about it all through class. "Fuji-san was only trying to help me." She looked at Akane, "And Akane-san was upset."

"I'm sorry Miki was being kind of a pain too... he's just not used to being friends with people. He'll be nice tomorrow, I promise." Akane said.

The hope on Fujitsima's face was obvious. "You're still coming tomorrow?"

Tooru nodded. "Yes."

"You're going to be late for work." Kyou said, pissed off that she was so forgiving.

"Oh!" She looked at her watch. "Thank you Kyou-kun." She waved to Akane and Fujitsima and started out the door.

"We'll see you tomorrow!" Akane called.

"Tomorrow!" Tooru agreed and jogged outside.

Kyou gave them both a level stare and then started walking out past them. Why hadn't she said no? Did she want to spend time with that guy so much?

"Akane-chan, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Fujitsima said. "I want to talk to Kyou-kun."

"Don't do anything stupid." Akane said giving Kyou a nervous look. "Call me when you get home, okay?"

"I will." Fujitsima promised.

The two boys watched her leave. "You got a lot of girl friends." Kyou said sarcastically, "Should I tell you to stop talking to them now that you're chasing her?" He jerked his chin in the direction Tooru had gone.

"They already have boyfriends." Fujitsima said waving his hands around, "And it's not just them I talk to. Tooru-kun is the only one you ever talk to, it's not the same at all. And you _know_ how people talk!"

"Whatever." Kyou shrugged. "What did you want?"

"You, um..." Fujitsima looked suddenly sheepish, "What we talked about the other day... did you get a chance to talk to Tooru-kun about it?"

Kyou's face went red. "You ask her if you want to know." _Has Kyou-kun been in love before?_ He started walking out the building towards home.

"I did." Fujitsima said miserably as he jogged to keep up with Kyou. "But she hasn't answered me yet. What do you think?"

"I think... I think that you should just stop pestering her for like five minutes." Kyou spat, "She isn't the brightest person and she's never dealt with anything like this before. Give her a little frickin' time already. Can't you see how uncomfortable she is?"

Fujitsima blinked. "I know! That's what I don't get." He looked up at Kyou, "She's comfortable around you and Souma-kun. What about me makes her uncomfortable? Could you ask her?"

"NO!" Kyou shouted. "No way!" He couldn't bear another scene like yesterday. "Ask her yourself!" He stopped and faced Fujitsima. "And stop sneaking around behind her back trying to control things. That's just dirty!"

"I'm sorry." Fujitsima said. "It's just... this is new to me too, you know? I really like her. I want her to like me." He sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

:0:0:

The next day Kyou skipped school. He took off before breakfast, leaving a note for Tooru so she wouldn't worry. He couldn't face going through a school day knowing she was going out on a date with that guy. He knew he was being a coward, but it was that or kidnap her so she couldn't go.

Yuki stumbled into the kitchen late, afraid he had missed her. Instead he found her in the kitchen, hurriedly scooping cookies into a container.

"What's this?"

Tooru looked up. "I felt bad not bringing anything for tonight, so I got up early and made cookies."

Yuki wondered if he looked as upset as he felt. He always had a harder time controlling his expression in the morning. "Honda-san didn't get in until late last night, and you'll probably be late tonight too." He said with what he hoped was light reproach.

"I know." Tooru said sheepishly. "But I wanted to. And I was making the meals anyway, so it wasn't so hard to do these too." She handed Yuki his bento box. On top sat a little sack tied with a ribbon. "I made enough for Yuki-kun too. I made some for Shigure-san and Kyou-kun... but Kyou-kun left for Shishou-san's today." She looked worried. "Kyou-kun says he's not going to school today."

Out loud, Yuki said, "Baka Neko." Inside he was thinking, _coward_. "Don't worry about him Honda-san, he's too stupid to get much out of class anyway."

"But it's not good to miss school." Tooru fretted. "Why do you think he isn't coming?"

_Because he can't stand to see you leave with Fujitsima after school_, he thought. _I wish I thought of it first._ He could have faked and asthma attack, or a cold, and stayed home. She might have even stayed with him. "Sometimes Kazuma-sensei holds competitions through his dojo, maybe he needed the stupid cat's help." Why was he making excuses for that guy?

Tooru smiled and he knew why he made excuses, not for the baka neko but because he didn't want to see her fuss.

"Breakfast is on the table, Yuki-kun should eat quickly so we aren't late."

"Did Honda-san eat?"

She nodded. "Yes, and I have a few more things to get ready for dinner."

"We could have bought dinner." Yuki protested. "Honda-san didn't have to do all that extra work."

"I wanted to." She insisted. "Yuki-kun's breakfast is going to be cold." She made a shooing motion with her hand, and Yuki let himself be ushered out of the room.

Tooru made the finishing touches on the side dishes, carefully labeling how they should be re-heated. She prepared herself to come home to a messy kitchen or an untouched meal. She'd made a lot and it was complicated, Shigure might decide just to order out instead.

"Are you ready to go?" Yuki said, holding her bag and jacket. "We'll be late if we don't leave now."

"I'm ready." She picked up her cookies and bento. "Do you think I should bring Kyou-kun's things? He might decide to come later."

"I doubt it." Yuki said dismissively, and then for her benefit, "Besides, if he did he'd probably stop by here first."

"Tooru-kun," Shigure said popping out of his study sleepily as they walked through the living room to the hallway. "You're going to K park this afternoon?"

"Yes."

"Would you mind doing me a favor? That's right near Aya's shop and I've been promising to return this." He held up a small shopping bag.

"No, I don't mind at all." Tooru said taking it from him. "I haven't seen Ayame-san in a while."

"Thank god." Yuki muttered under his breath.

"Thank you." Shigure yawned. "Have fun!"

Yuki glared at him as he opened the door for her and held it as she walked out.

They'd gotten halfway to school and were starting to encounter other students when Yuki started thinking about what Fujitsima had said the day before. He'd more or less dismissed his concerns when he'd brought them up, thinking the boy just wanted to work Yuki out of Tooru's life. He'd seen people whisper about them before; he'd even tried to use it to his advantage a short while ago. It hadn't really occurred to him how it impacted on her.

"Does... Does Honda-san," he started hesitantly, "want to go on ahead?"

"Ahead?" Tooru repeated. "Does Yuki-kun have an errand to run? He'll be late."

"No, but... yesterday... Fujitsima..." Yuki couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so tongue-tied. "People do talk..."

"Gossiping is wrong." Tooru said firmly. "Mother always said so. People used to say bad things about Mother, and Uo-chan, and even Hana-chan too." Yuki had seen Tooru looking upset or worried and sad. But he didn't know if he'd ever seen her look angry before. "But what people say doesn't change what people really are, and we shouldn't let gossip change something good. Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are my friends." She turned to look at him, suddenly looking worried. "I like walking to school with Yuki-kun, but if he doesn't want to... Yuki-kun should do what makes him most comfortable."

Yuki smiled, "Then I'll continue walking with Honda-san." What would make him most comfortable would be to take her hand as they walked, and his fingers twitched at the thought. But her hands were full so it would have to wait for another day.

It was the last time that day he felt the least bit comfortable. Fujitsima had been ecstatic over the cookies, as if making her get up early to bake was something to be proud of. He'd shown them off to Akira and Hisae, who seemed to read more then they should into it. He wished the day would go by slowly, if only to prevent the torture of having to deal with her leaving with them in the afternoon, but it flew by. It had just been Fujitsima with them at lunch, and Hana and Uo had pestered him mercilessly to Yuki's great satisfaction. But the day was over much too quickly and soon Yuki had lingered at the lockers watching the cherry blossom viewing group form up.

"I brought my sister's kimono to Akane's. Did Tooru-chan bring her makeup?" Hisae linked arms with Tooru, obviously willing to be close friends.

"Makeup, I don't-" Tooru started. "Sometime Uo-chan puts some on me, but I don't know how..."

"Oh, makeover! I call it!" Akane said grinning.

Hisae pouted, "You always call makeup. I call hair."

"Call?" Tooru said weakly following them out of the building as the boys trailed after.

"That means we want to do it..." Hisae looked at Akane, "Should we do her nails? I don't know if we have time for them to dry."

"Oh, it's okay if they're a little wet, we're not going to eat right away. We'll just have to make sure she's in the kimono first."

Yuki waited until they were out of sight before starting his lonely trek home. Somehow he thought the night would not go by nearly as fast as the day had.

:0:0:

"What's in the shopping bag? More goodies?" Akane asked.

Tooru looked at the bag. "Ah, actually... If it's not a bother, does Akane-san know a store called _Ayame_?"

"Oh, I love that store." Hisae squealed and grabbed Akira's arm. "That's the place I told you about with the cute handicrafts." Akira waited until Hisae looked back at Tooru before making a gagging face at Fujitsima. She shot him an annoyed look. "I saw that. Are you returning something there?"

"As a favor." Tooru nodded. "It's near Akane-san's isn't it?

"I'll take any excuse to go in there. It's just past Akane's house." Hisae said to Akane. She looked at the boys, "We'll dress up quick, and then go to the store. You guys can go on ahead to the bakery and stuff and we'll meet up at Ayame."

"Quick!" Akira said, "Escape while we can, they're going shopping!" He pelted down the street. Fujitsima and Miki looked at each other and shrugged.

"I'll see you later, babe." Miki gave Akane a quick peck on the cheek. Tooru goggled.

"Um... same here." Fujitsima said, looking like he wondered if he was supposed to kiss her goodbye too. He settled for giving an uncertain wave.

"Why do I get the one who thinks he's funny?" Hisae sighed leading the girls down the side street to Akane's house. "Let's hurry so we have a little time to shop. I hope the owner is in, he's delish."

Akane and Hisae got into their own kimonos quickly and did up their hair, but they fussed over Tooru for what felt like a very long time. First they got her into Hisae's sister's kimono, having to fuss a little because it was too big, both a little long in the sleeves and too broad in the shoulders.

"Gosh Hisae, your sister is a monster, is she really only a freshman?" Akane said tugging at the shoulders to make them look more flattering.

"Dad jokes that she took my leftover inches in the night." Hisae dimpled. "But really, she's not that big, it's just Tooru-chan is small."

Akane grinned. "Not as small as you."

"Lucky her." Hisae sighed. "Okay, now hair...let's do it up, got any clips?" She dug through Akane's jewelry box.

"Yeah, in the bottom drawer. Look up, Tooru-chan." Akane commanded, poking at her eye with a pencil. She lightly made her up and turned to Hisae, "This is fun, it's like having a kid sister. Close your eyes now." Tooru obediently closed her eyes and felt her brush something over her lids.

"No, it's not. If she was like a kid sister she'd be stealing your clothes and whining that Mom loves you best because she gave you more dumplings at dinner." She twisted Tooru's hair up into a knot and slid in a few pins in. "How's that?"

"Cute! I think I'm done too." Akane pressed a lipstick into Tooru's hands. "Just put a little of that on."

Tooru opened her eyes and looked in the mirror then down at the lipstick in her hand. "How...?"

Hisae grinned, "Just watch me. You pucker up then..." She slid her lipstick over her lips, making them berry bright. "Then blot." She took a little of the thickness off. "Now you."

Tooru mimicked her, watching her lips become a rich red in the mirror. Akane was very good at makeup; she'd kept her touch light. She could barely see the shimmer of eye shadow she was wearing and her eyes looked huge with just a little mascara and eyeliner. The other girl had brushed on the tiniest bit of blush, making her look rosy. Hisae had done her hair up in a fashionable knot, with pins holding it in place. Tooru felt unlike herself. She blotted her lips and smiled. This was more fun then she'd expected. It was like hanging out with Uo-chan and Hana-chan.

"Thank you." She said sincerely to the girls starting to feel more confident.

"Are we all done?" Akane was checking her own makeup in the mirror. "We won't have much time to shop."

"We'll just make the boys wait." Hisae said, picking up a small purse and dropping a small hairbrush and lipstick in it.

Tooru made a little o of protest, emphasized by her lipstick. "Isn't that rude?"

"It's part of being a girl." Hisae laughed, "Stick with us and we'll show you the ropes."

"I've got the sausages." Akane said holding up a box. "There are the sandwiches. Where are your cookies?"

"Fuji-san had them. Can I help carry something?" Tooru asked as Hisae picked up her box of sandwiches.

"Later maybe." Hisae shrugged. "Lets get going."

Akane and Hisae chattered back and forth about people Tooru didn't know until they reached Ayame's storefront.

"Oops," Akane said, looking at the dark windows of the store. "It looks like it's closed."

"Darnit." Hisae said. "Well, if you want we can go back and drop the bag off at Akane's before we head to the park."

Tooru stepped up to the doors of the store. "Ayame-san lives above the store, someone should be here." She peered around the edges of the displays in the window. She didn't want Shigure to have to make a special trip out and she didn't know what was in the package, but it could be important. "I think there is a light on in back." She rapped experimentally window glass.

Hisae and Akane exchanged glances. "But do you think we should-" Hisae started.

"Tooru-chan!" Everyone jumped as the door flew inward and Mine appeared on the other side. "You're finally here!" Today's costume was an elaborate black kimono stitched with gold, with a thick golden obi embroidered in black. The rich looking thread formed a serpentine creature that might have been a dragon or just a very elaborate snake. Her face was painted with traditional white pancake and she even wore her hair up in a complicated style that looked like a geisha's wig. If it weren't for the glasses perched on her nose, she could have stepped out of an ancient watercolor painting.

"Mine-san," Tooru said smiling, used to such displays after all this time with the Soumas. "It's so nice to see you again. Your kimono is very pretty." Hisae and Akane gaped at the understatement.

"Come in, come in, Boss has been waiting." She stepped back and bowed her head, when she swung her arm indicating they should enter the subtle gold stitching glittered.

Tooru put a hand up in protest. "Oh, no, Ayame-san's store is closed, so we don't want to bother him." She held up the bag. "Shigure-san asked me to drop this by." She could feel Akane and Hisae staring at her back.

"NONSENSE!" A booming voice rang out of the depths of the store. "Gure called me sobbing with a horrible story," The lights of the store came on and Ayame strode into its center. "And I see that it's true! A borrowed kimono! I cannot allow it to happen!" He stepped to the door and put his hands on her shoulders. "It doesn't even fit properly!"

"But-" Tooru started, nearly dropping the shopping bag Shigure had given her.

"After he heard, Boss closed up the store and worked all night. He didn't even open the store at all today." Mine said taking the bag out of Tooru's hands and pushing at her back to get her to stumble into the store. Akane and Hisae lingered in the doorway unsure if they should follow.

"This color, it's all wrong!" Ayame said irritably, "And look, this hangs." He tugged at her shoulders; making the careful arrangements Akane and Hisae had made to fit the kimono to Tooru's smaller frame. He tucked a finger under her chin and made her look up at him, peering into her face. "And who did your makeup?"

"I did!" Akane said.

Ayame looked over, noticing the other girls for the first time. "A good job." He acknowledged. "But it is obvious you are used to working on a deeper complexion, a darker coloring." His serious disposition suddenly vanished. "Well, let's get this fixed!"

"Fixed?" Hisae asked. "What-"

"Tooru-chan of course." Ayame said airily. He snapped his fingers. "Mine, please take her and get her into that."

Eyes shining eagerly, Mine grabbed Tooru's hand and began dragging her into the back of the store.

"But, that is..." Tooru said, "for today it was decided that we'd wear kimono, and that dress is at home..."

"No, no, it's something new Boss created just for Tooru-chan." Mine assured her. "After Boss got that phone call, he started working on it right away."

"Wait!" Hisae said, "What's going on?"

"You girls go along too..." Ayame said striding behind Akane and Hisae and pushed them along, "Mine, those new hair accessories you designed, don't you think they'd be a wonderful compliment to these girls?"

"Oh yes!" Mine cried, releasing Tooru and spinning bumping her with her hip towards the back door and moving forward to grab the other two by the hand. "This way!"

"But... the boys..." Akane managed, clutching her box of sausages.

"You are expecting more?" Ayame said, plucking their packages out of their hands and placing them on the counter. His beauty dazzled the girls. "But of course, your escorts. I shall wait for them here. Mine, I leave them in your capable hands." He pressed two firmly towards the back of the store before turning back to the door and flipping the store's sign to "open."

:0:0:

"What is going on?" Hisae said, her voice harsh with surprise. Akane was holding on to her arm looking scared.

"Um..." Tooru said hesitantly, just as lost.

"Boss received a phone call yesterday about Tooru-chan not having a kimono." Mine said turning from the closet with a pink fall of cloth over her arm. "So he made this for her. He conspired to get her to come today, so please forgive her, she didn't know."

"Ayame-san did?" Tooru said looking at the kimono his assistant held. "Oh, but this is so fine...too fine. I couldn't..." It was beautiful, made out of a rosy pale silk, elaborate, ornate butterflies chasing each other through over its surface.

"Boss made it just for you, it won't suit anyone else. If Tooru-chan doesn't take it Boss will have to take it apart." She pouted, her ruby red lips looking plump against her white makeup. "Maybe we could make something else from it... but Boss will be so disappointed he'll probably just throw it out."

"Oh no!" Tooru said looking horrified.

"Then you'll wear it? Boss will be so pleased!" Mine handed it to her. "Let me go and get my makeup kit and the accessories." She bustled out of the room, taking small mincing steps but moving quickly.

"Tooru-chan!" Hisae hissed running over and fingering the kimono. "This! It's beautiful! Do you know how much fabric like this costs?"

"How do you know these people?" Akane said looking around.

"Ayame-san is Yuki-kun's older brother." Tooru said numbly.

"_Souma-kun's?_"

Tooru nodded, still staring at the kimono. "Can Hisae-chan help me with this?"

"You're going really going to wear it?" Akane asked, sounding awed, but walking over to help.

"Mine-san said Ayame-san closed his store for two days." Tooru said, working her way out of her borrowed kimono. "And it's too fine to take apart. It would be rude not to wear it." She let Hisae help her into the pink kimono. "I'll just have to figure out how to repay Ayame-san somehow." She looked up at Hisae worriedly. "How much does fabric like this cost?"

"He can't expect you to actually pay for it!" Akane said huffily helping her find her way through a sleeve. "You didn't ask for this, if he tries to give you a bill you just throw it right back in his face."

"Oh, no Ayame-san would _never_ ask!" Tooru said quickly, holding the kimono shut. "But-" She looked down trying to figure out how to layer the _juban _undergarment under the kimono.

"Let me," Mine said, coming back into the room. She put two small cases on the table and walked over, quickly sorting Tooru out. "Boss made this kimono as a gift. He'll be very hurt if he hears Tooru-chan talking about paying for it." She smiled, fastening the layers of belts that made up the obi. "Ayame-san still feels like he owes Tooru-chan for helping with his brother, please let him repay you in this small way."

"It's gorgeous." Hisae breathed.

Tooru twisted her fingers nervously, "I... I don't look silly in it? I mean, it's so fine..." She stopped squirming when Mine took down her hair and started to redo it. "And Ayame-san really doesn't owe me anything." She tried to look at her out of the corner of her eye.

"No, I mean, it really looks like it was made for you." Akane said; sounding shocked at herself.

"Maseo-chan is going to faint." Hisae giggled suddenly. "I can't wait to see his face when he sees you! Are these the accessories Ayame-san said we could wear?" Ayame's assistant nodded and Hisae clapped her hands.

"Maseo-kun?" Mine asked, brushing out Tooru's hair. She pulled back just the top part, fastening it up with inlaid combs.

"Tooru-chan's boyfriend." Hisae pulled out a jeweled dragonfly clip. "Oh, Akane, this would look perfect on you."

"Boyfriend?" Mine said pausing.

"Oh, but..." Tooru blushed, trying not to pull her hair out of Mine's hands, "Fuji-san and I..."

"You still haven't answered him?" Akane said trying on the clip. "Totally uncool, Tooru-chan."

"Be nice, Akane." Hisae said. "I remember a certain someone taking a month to say yes to a certain guy and then dumping him a week later." She pulled her hair up on one side with a carved wooden comb. "At least Tooru-chan is taking the time to be sure."

"Well, you all are young yet. And it is springtime." Mine smiled. "It's too early to take things seriously."

"Mother met Father in middle school." Tooru said, "I don't think age matters. It's just when the seed sprouts."

"Seed? You are so weird sometimes, Tooru-chan." Hisae smiled.

"Mine, status report?" Ayame called through the door, sounding like an impatient child. "I'm eager to see my creation!"

Mine straightened and saluted the door, rattling off military style. "Clothes, complete. Hair, complete."

"Makeup?" Ayame asked opening the door.

"Incomplete." Mine said. "If Boss wants to do makeup I can do the other girls' hair."

"It will be my pleasure." He sailed over to Tooru and put an arm around her shoulders, propelling her into a beauty shop styled chair. He popped open Mine's makeup case and pulled out an array of pencils brushes. They jutted out from between his fingers like a fan, as he posed dramatically. "Ah, the sweet joy of practicing a craft mastered but infrequently used." He propped the chair back with one hand, dropping his tools on the table. He leaned forward nose to nose with Tooru.

"Ayame-san does makeup?" She asked a little nervously. She tried not to flinch as he wiped a cleansing pad quickly over her face to clear it of Akane's efforts.

Mine was sitting Akane down and pulling out the dragonfly clip. "Boss did my makeup!" She said cheerfully.

"That wouldn't make me feel better." Akane muttered under her breath.

"Boss matches the image to the person." Mine said, taking no offense. Her hands were a flurry of motion, arranging Ayame's hair in a complicated up do. "Clothes, hair and makeup must match the personality." She refastened the dragonfly clip and added a few more sparkling hairpins.

"And for Tooru-chan, our princess," Ayame said, "That is a challenge. Makeup is just another factor in completing the Romantic Ideal, the fantasy we wish to make reality." He turned her chin left and right, studying her face. "Tooru-chan's image is innocence, sweetness and purity. She is a Japanese ideal in a kimono. But makeup is lurid in its very nature, seeking to attract attention. The attempt to marry these concepts together is a challenge worthy of ME!"

"Done." Mine said, handing Akane a mirror. "Next!" She stepped next to Hisae, hairbrush at the ready. "Boss better hurry or I'll be finished before he is."

"Art cannot be hurried. No less a task is this than painting the great frescos of Italia, the mosaics of Crete, the temples of Egypt." Ayame proclaimed.

"But the others will be coming soon..." Tooru said weakly, trying not to move her face as she spoke.

Ayame's face tightened. "Yes, your unworthy suitor. He can wait."

"Boss," Mine said gently, her brush combing through Hisae's thick curls. "It's springtime."

The tall man sighed, relaxing. "Yes, springtime is for couples, and acting foolishly, and youth." He stared into Tooru's eyes. "And Tooru-chan is young. Close your eyes, Princess."

She shivered as she felt a brush move over her eyelids. She felt very young.

"Open your eyes to see your ideal self. As described by my sweet Gure, with passion and tears, the ideal of a young Japanese female poet. Suitable for writing prose in calligraphy with black ink," Ayame said stepping back, adjusting the chair upright. He added as an afterthought, "And ikebana in the afternoon for inspiration." He helped her up out of the chair and over to a mirror.

Tooru opened up her eyes and stared at herself. A polished young woman looked out of the mirror at her. Her hair was expertly done, the sides up with inlaid combs. One had a jeweled flower on it and a fall of silk blossoms. The bulk of her hair was loose around her shoulders, curling slightly, making her seem very fresh and young. Her furisode kimono fell in the appropriate straight lines with a thick obi around her waist, a "chou chou" butterfly ribbon bow at her back. The butterflies on the fabric were clustered around her feet and the draping sleeves of her kimono, with one large one over her left breast. Her lips were a pearly pink, they looked pouty without being petulant and her eyes had never looked deeper or larger.

"Oh woooow Tooru-chan!" Hisae said, Mine's hands still deep in her hair. "I thought you looked good before, but WOW!"

"Now fair maiden," Ayame said turning to Akane. "Allow me to do your makeup. I have too few opportunities."

Mine had done Akane's hair up in a complicated French twist, decorated with pins and the dragonfly clip. It gave her an air of refinement that suited her cool demeanor. "Really?" She drew back a little suspiciously. "This, is free right... I mean I can pay for the clips, I think, but I don't know..."

"Do not speak of money," Ayame said suavely, taking her by the hand and letting her be hypnotized by his golden eyes. "Working on a beauty such as yourself is reward enough. Besides, you are a friend of Tooru-kun's."

Barely managing to break away from his gaze, Akane looked over at Tooru. "We need to hang out more." She lowered herself into the chair and tried not to let the beautiful man see how much he affected her.

"Tooru-chan." Hisae said, wincing a little as Mine pulled her hair a little. "Can you wait for the boys in the store? Akira is super impatient, if he doesn't see us he might try going to Akane's or the park and it'll take forever to meet up with them."

"Yes, of course." Tooru said turning and walking towards the door. The wide obi and tightly wrapped layers of the kimono made her take small ladylike steps. She paused in the doorway, bowing to Mine and Ayame. "Thank you very much for everything. It's beautiful."

"Kyaaa..." Hisae squealed at her retreating back, "She's like something out of a drama!"

Tooru stepped out of the back room, her heart thudding. She'd never worn anything this nice in her life. She was pretty sure the fabric alone was worth more than she made in a month, never mind the fine _juban_ underneath, the obi belts, the combs in her hair or any of the time and skill it took to put all of it together. She'd have to think of something to repay Ayame for all this. Somehow she thought that a box of homemade cookies just wasn't going to cut it. But cooking was her only skill...

The shop was bright but empty of customers. She paced in tiny mincing steps around the store, trying to get used to the thick tabi socks and tight kimono. Maybe she could offer to come and clean the store and apartment? She ran a finger over the top of a rack of pretty papers. "Spotless." She murmured. That'd be no good.

Cooking wasn't good enough; he obviously didn't need help cleaning... A particularly cute print of paper, with pictures of the san-x brand "onigiri" family on it, distracted her.

That would be a perfect background for the scrapbook pages she was making about the onigiri booth at school. Ayame's store had lots of cute scrap-booking supplies, no wonder his albums were so well made. She fingered some other papers; she and Yuki should go shopping for his album. He'd probably want something more masculine...

An album! That's what she could give Ayame in return for this kimono. Ayame had a few pictures of his brother when he was younger, but not many recent ones. When she and Yuki sat down to make his album she'd make one for Ayame too. She grinned and looked over the albums and papers more closely. She just knew that he would love an album of photos of his brother. She didn't dare buy it here; Ayame would probably try to give it to her for free. That would defeat the whole purpose. She was so involved in planning and picking out that she didn't hear the bell signaling the door had opened.

"Excuse me Miss, do you work here? We're looking for- _Honda?_"

"Mitsawa-kun," Tooru looked up and smiled. "Hisae-chan and Akane-san will be out in a moment." She stepped out from behind the rack.

Akira gaped at her, looking a little foolish in his haori.

"Are they here?" Miki asked sticking his head through the door. "It's going to be d-" He stopped and stared at Tooru. "Holy crap." He looked over his shoulder. "You've gotta see this." He stepped inside.

"Oh, wait, I want to see his face!" Hisae called stepping out of the back room walking out as fast as her kimono would allow. Mine had braided her short hair in two tight French braids on either side of her head. They gathered back to a small ponytail at the nape of her neck that exploded into a riot of curls like a puffball. Woven through her hair were bright, jeweled bobby pins in silver. Ayame had done her makeup too, adding light touches that made her dimples seem deeper and her cheeks rosier. Akane followed her out, her makeup lighter then Tooru had ever seen it before. Usually she seemed detached, but she was blushing and smiling up at Miki as she walked out.

Fujitsima stepped into the store, having to walk around Miki who didn't budge. "What's the big dea-" He froze, his mouth open. "Hisae's sister had a kimono like _THAT_?"

"Oh, yeah," Hisae said sliding up next to Akira. "We got it that time my parents won the lottery."

"Your parents won the lottery?" Fujitsima repeated, tearing his eyes off of Tooru.

"Idiot!" Hisae shook her head.

"Umn.. Ano..." Tooru said hesitantly and Fujitsima turned back at her, his eyes still bulging every time he looked at her. She went scarlet.

"Of course!" Ayame said coming up behind her, "It is a creation of mine!" He took her hand in his and put his other on her hip, forcing her to pose with him. "This most treasured romantic fantasy, the kimono, the tiny princess in every Japanese man's heart." He spun her around, and when she slipped he caught her as if it was intended, supporting her against one arm and bending over her. "A dream on two legs, an image of flower arranging and calligraphy, of stately things and old-fashioned decorum. A perfect image for Tooru-kun!" He righted her, practically setting her on her feet. "Which one of you is this vision's escort?"

Fujitsima started, having finally processed that Ayame had stopped talking and had asked a question directed at him. "M-me?"

"Is that a question? Are you not sure?" Ayame asked. "Perhaps you have realized, as I have, that you are not worthy of this task?"

"What? Fujitsima looked very confused. Tooru looked back and forth between them with mounting concern.

"It is increasingly obvious that this Princess is not meant for you." Ayame said walking over to him and looking down from his greater height. "A proper match for a princess should be someone brimming with grace, a manly example of the romantic ideal that exists in the dreams of every maiden. He should be quick-witted, strong, handsome as he is kind!"

"Excuse me?" Fujitsima said.

"In short, he should be a prince!" Ayame raised a finger, "A prince of uncommon charm and manly beauty! A prince such as my brother! I cannot allow this!" He turned to Tooru. "How can Gure allow this travesty? Can you not see this boy is not equal to him? Why do you turn your eyes to this boy when you have in reach my brother? Where my brother is handsome, this boy is plain, where my brother is graceful, this boy is clumsy, where-"

Fujitsima looked back and forth between his friends, completely at a loss. Tooru was behind Ayame; he'd have to go through him to get to her. Ayame was nearly twice his size, or at least seemed that way with his intimidating presence.

"Dude, let's just go." Miki said, grabbing Akane's hand. "Let this freak talk himself blue."

"Uh, yeah." Akira was already holding a white faced Hisae's hands. "It's gonna be dark soon."

Tooru stepped forward trying to move around Ayame to the others.

"STOP!" Ayame held out a hand and she froze. "Princess, don't you see you should be with a Prince? If not my brother, then even Kyon-kichi is better. If you compare-"

"Ayame-san." Tooru said, placing a hand on his arm. "You can't compare people like that. Mother always said that it was wrong to say one person is better than another. People are not fruit, she would say."

"Fruit?" Ayame repeated.

"You can say this pear is better than that pear because this one is bigger, or riper or fresher. But even with fruit, it is hard to say a pear is better then an apple because the qualities you look for is different. People are not the same, there is no better, only different. Pears are pears, apples are apples." She looked up at him seriously. "Fuji-san is Fuji-san. Yuki-kun is Yuki-kun. And Fuji-san is a prince too. Fuji-san is kind and honest, and says what he feels. When someone is being hurt he wants to help them. He worries about his friends. When he can fix a problem, he tries to. If Ayame-san doesn't think that's prince-like... maybe Ayame-san doesn't really understand what a prince is. Yuki-kun is a apple prince, maybe Fuji-san is a pear prince." She looked down at her beautiful kimono. "This is beautiful, but if Ayame-san thinks that Fuji-san isn't a prince, maybe I shouldn't be a princess. May I have my borrowed kimono back, please? I'll go change."

"No, no..." Ayame said taking her hands before she could pull the pins from her hair. "Even in a borrowed kimono Tooru-kun is a princess. And you are right, and I am wrong."

He turned to Fujitsima. "I must apologize, Prince of Pears. I was very rude." He bowed.

"Um." Fujitsima said looking between Tooru and Ayame. "It's okay?" He really didn't understand what was going on. But Tooru had just made a speech about how he was a prince. He was ready to forgive anyone just about anything.

Ayame turned back to Tooru placing his hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes. "I wanted to give you a gift, and I caused you distress instead. How unromantic."

"Ayame-san was also just concerned for me." She smiled at him. "Ayame-san is Ayame-san."

He leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek. Before he drew back he whispered. "I still do not think he is worthy of you." But he straightened with a smile. "But then I do not think anyone truly is. Except perhaps my brother." He turned to the rest of the group. "Ah it is springtime! Time for foolish actions and declarations! But now you should go. For tonight at least, be a Pear Princess. If dusk should fall before you are settled beneath the falling cherry blossoms, now that would be a tragedy."

He clapped a hand on Fujitsima's shoulder. "Be sure, she must be seated in the waning light among the blossoms where the faint pink in the sky will accent the flush of her cheeks."

"Um...Okay?" Fujitsima said and took Tooru's hand.

Mine came forward with a big basket and a blanket over her arm. "I put this together, it's the perfect setting for three princesses." Inside were their boxes of food, neatly rearranged and some extra goodies she must have found.

Tooru thanked them profusely, while Fujitsima took the basket. She let herself be hustled out the door by the others.

"Didn't I say I would be kidnapping the princess?" Ayame asked after they'd left. "When did you put that together?"

"I knew Boss would do the right thing." Mine said. "I had confidence in Boss."

Ayame blushed.

:0:0:

"Oh. My. God." Hisae said once they were out of site of the store, "I can't believe that guy is Yuki Souma's brother!"

"He is?" Fujitsima said looking back. "So when he was saying you should be with his brother he was saying...oh."

"They do kind of look a like." Akane said. "If you look close. But personality wise-"

"I saw a picture of Ayame-san when he was Yuki-kun's age." Tooru said. "They look exactly the same. I think Yuki-kun will look a lot more like Ayame-san as he gets older."

"So he's going to get even more delish." Hisae giggled.

Akira looked huffy, "I didn't think girly guys like that were your type."

"Not that personality. I couldn't handle that. But that tush. I could handle that tush. I think I could learn to deal with Prince Yuki's personality if he grew that tush."

"Hisae!" Akira said, horrified.

"Yuki-kun's personality is nice." Tooru said, confused at the turn of the conversation. _Yuki-kun's tush?_ She thought and blushed.

"To you maybe." Fujitsima muttered.

"And I used to think I had it bad 'cause Akane's got brothers." Miki said, punching Fujitsima in the shoulder. "But man... you got transvestites against you!"

"So why did he make you that kimono?" Fujitsima said trying to switch the subject.

"He said he owed her." Akane said. "What does he owe you for that's worth all... this?" She gestured to include the kimono and their hair and makeup.

"Nothing really." Tooru said. "Yuki-kun and Ayame-san's relationship wasn't good... and we just visited Ayame-san's store together, Yuki-kun and I."

Her answers were distracted and she quickly lost track of the conversation. Pears are Pears and Apples are Apples. She'd been just as guilty as Ayame had been of comparing Fujitsima to Yuki and Kyou. When he held her hand she wondered why it felt different. When they spent time together she thought about when she spent time with them. She looked up at him and he smiled at her.

She gave a smile back, but her mind was still berating herself. She'd been spending almost every minute together cataloging how he was different from people she'd known before. What she should have been doing was trying to discover what kind of person he was, not who he wasn't.

There were mobs of people in K Park with their own basket dinners. There weren't many other people in kimonos, but there were plenty of people dressed up and lots of other people who were on dates. It took some doing, with them getting there so late, but they found a nice patch of ground to spread a blanket on and have their picnic. Tooru had to have Fujitsima help her down, unused to maneuvering in her kimono. It was hard enough getting down, making sure not to sit on her sleeves by herself was beyond her.

Tooru tried to spend their picnic focused on the person in front of her. He sat next to her and blushed when she handed him a plate of food. He teased Hisae who kept peeking in a pocket mirror to make sure her hair was still in place. Despite his objections the day before he accepted Miki's teasing about how he hovered over Tooru with good grace. He was more relaxed then when he was around her friends or when they were alone. This Fujitsima laughed easier. Unlike when Yuki and Kyou were around, he didn't seem to feel the need to grab her hand any time it was free. He was incredibly enthusiastic about her cookies, making both Akira and Miki compliment her on them and loudly claiming any leftovers. If she didn't have much to contribute to everyone's conversation, everyone at least made a point to not ignore her.

Out of habit, and because she was sitting next to the basket, Tooru kept busy making sure everyone's plates and cups were full. She was a little awkward at first, unused to long the sleeves, but got the hang of it pretty quickly. Near the end, Fujitsima had moved forward a little to argue about some story Akira was telling. Akane and Hisae were gleefully choosing sides adding comments to tease both boys. Tooru was unintentionally excluded, but enjoyed watching the fun. Movement to her side caught her eye and saw Miki watching Akane with a rare smile on his face. He caught her looking and stiffened. She smiled and scooted so that she was facing him.

"Would Miki-san like more tea?" She asked. "Or, there are some cookies left."

"I'm good." He said shortly, his eyes drifting back to Akane without him seeming to notice.

Tooru smiled remembering her first conversation with Shigure. "So for you, Akane-san is like magnets."

"What?" Miki said, startled.

"A friend told me that caring for someone feels different to everyone. That for him it was like being hungry, always wanting more. But for some people it was like magnets... you keep being drawn to them." She glanced at Fujitsima and his friends, still deeply involved in their conversation. "For Miki-san, Akane-san must be like a magnet because he can't look away."

Miki blushed and hunched his shoulders defensively. "So?" He said belligerently. "I like her."

Tooru smiled brightly, "Akane-san likes Miki-san a lot too. Her smile is bigger when she smiles at you."

The tall boy looked surprised. "I...you're weird."

"Hisae-chan said that too." Tooru agreed. "And Uo-chan says it all the time." She paused. "And Kyou-kun too."

Miki just shook his head, his eyes drifting back to Akane. He watched Akane shake her finger at Akira. "Must be nice to have friends like that, old friends."

Tooru cocked her head. "Miki-san doesn't have old friends?"

"I moved here the summer before my freshman year," Miki said, "And before that me and my Pop moved all over the place. Never really stuck around anywhere long enough."

"What about here?" Tooru prompted after a moment of silence.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call them friends, but I ride motorcycles with some guys." He shrugged.

"Miki-san rides a motorcycle?" Tooru asked. "Uo-chan took me for a ride on hers, but they go so fast!"

"Uotani... that's that Yankee-girl?" Miki said glancing at her. "She rides?"

"Yes, she says she loves that you feel so out of control on it. But it scared me." She grinned. "Mother used to ride one too, but then she drove a truck."

"Your _mother_?" Miki said, paying full attention.

Tooru nodded, warming to her favorite subject. "Mother used to lead her squad, and they called her "Akai Cho" because the blinking taillights of her motorcycle used to look like a fluttering red butterfly." She smiled.

"Your _mother_ was the Red Butterfly?" Miki leaned forward. "I heard about her! They said she was fearless."

Tooru nodded eagerly. "That's how I met Uo-chan. Her gang used to tell stories about her all the time. But Uo-chan was surprised when she met her. Mother said that when she met my Father she became a stupid parent."

"I heard Akai Chou had a daughter," Miki said, "But you certainly weren't what I was expecting."

"I look like my Father's father, Hana-chan says."

"That's not what I meant. I've never seen your mother. I just expected someone tougher. Meaner." Miki grinned. "So she drives a truck now, your mom? Is it painted?"

Tooru's face fell a little. "Mother's truck was a decotora, but Mother passed away last year."

"I'm sorry." Miki was immediately contrite. "I didn't-"

"What are you guys talking about so friendly-like?" Akane scooted over so she was leaning on Miki. She smiled at him and tugged his ponytail.

"Did you know Honda's mother was Akai Chou?" Miki asked excitedly.

She wrinkled her nose. "And that means?"

"The Red Butterfly, leader of the toughest, meanest fearless motorcycle squad in the past 20 years!" Miki explained. "They still talk about her today."

"Your mom was a famous gang-leader?" Akira said staring at her. "Your _mom_?"

"Yes." Tooru said, and reached into her sleeve where she'd put her wallet. "I have a picture..." She flipped open her wallet and showed them her mother's picture. "This one is more recent, after she left the gang," and then flipped to an older one from middle school. "This one has Uo-chan too...They were dressed up for fun." Uo-chan had an allergy mask on, and her old kamikaze long coat. Tooru's Mom held a wooden boken sword in one hand, and was looking over her shoulder to show off the red butterfly stitched to the back of the coat. A young Tooru stood between them in her middle school uniform and pigtails.

"If it weren't for the smile..." Akira mused, "You'd look like a kidnap victim there."

"That's so cool," Miki said peering at the picture. "I can't wait to tell the guys."

"Hey," Fujitsima said taking her free hand. "It's starting to get dark... You guys want to head over to the festival?"

"Okay." Hisae said, "Akira and I will stop by my house to drop off all this stuff and then meet you guys up there?"

"Fine by me." Akane nodded, then looked at Miki, "Don't pout. It will be fun. And no fighting."

"I'm having fun." Miki protested. "And I won't start anything, but it's not my fault if someone gets in my face."

Tooru freed her hand from Fujitsima's and started packing up their things, feeling a little odd. She got the feeling he didn't like that she'd been talking to Miki, or perhaps he didn't like hearing about her mother? She gathered all the trash into a pile and closed up the basket. It was much lighter now.

"Here, Tooru-kun," Fujitsima said, "Let me help you up." He held out his hands to help lever her up.

She put her hands in his and let him haul her to her feet. She tripped over her feet, her geta tangling in the long kimono fabric. She leaned into his hands, trying to regain her balance. They went down in a tumble. She was used to the strength hidden in Yuki or Kyou's thin bodies and put too much weight against him. Fujitsima landed on his back and Tooru on top of him.

She froze, expecting the weight below her to disappear and some other small body to form. A small piece of her was still surprised he didn't disappear into a puff of smoke. She felt his arms reach up and around her and she squeezed her eyes tight. He hugged her tight, just for a second and then let go with one arm to lever up into a sitting position taking her with him.

"Are you okay?" He asked anxiously. She was still pressed tightly to him, her kimono was twisted trapping her.

"Yes... um..." She looked down at his arm.

"Oh. Oh!" He released her and scooted away, letting her rearrange herself. "I'm sorry!"

"It was my fault." Tooru said managing to right herself. She got to her knees ungracefully, and maneuvered herself up to a standing position. It was a testament to Ayame's workmanship that other then a few wrinkles and a slight askew butterfly ribbon the kimono was unaffected. Her combs hadn't even fallen out. "I'm clumsy. I'm sorry." Her face was blazing and she couldn't look at him. He'd hugged her. Hugged her., probably definitely on purpose maybe.

"Well." Hisae said, a barely suppressed giggle behind her words, picking up the basket. "We'll just let you kids be alone."

"Yeah," Akane grinned, picking up the blanket and thrusting it at Miki. "We'll just help them get this stuff back to Hisae's and then see you up at the festival. Okay?" She asked, looking up at him.

Miki just quirked an eyebrow at them and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Whatever you say, babe."

"Have fun, _Fujiiii-saaaan._" Akira grinned.

"I told you before, " Fujitsima fumed, his face as red or redder then Tooru's, "it's not cute when you say it." But he didn't object when the other four walked away leaving him alone with Tooru beneath the cherry tree.

Tooru focused on straightening her obi, trying to settle her nerves at the same time. She turned away to look at the park. Dusk had almost passed into night and the park was emptying fast. She looked at the cherry trees, the whole reason for their visit, for the first time. It was gorgeous; the trees in this park were a riot of pink. She looked up past the treetops and could see the first stars. She heard a rustle behind her and turned slightly.

Fujitsima was a murky shape in the rapidly darkening night. "Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass Honda-san."

Tooru stared at him; she didn't know what to say. Why did you hug me? Why is my heart racing? Why do I feel like running away?

"We...Fuji-san and I should get going." She walked over to him, shuffling through the fallen cherry blossoms. She felt shy and uncomfortable. She couldn't move quickly in her complicated kimono, and it felt like it took ages to reach Fujitsima.

"Um... The shrine is this way..." Fujitsima said awkwardly. He took her hand and they walked through the park. She struggled to keep up with him, his longer strides impossible to match hampered as she was.

"Ah, um... Fuji-san..." Tooru broke the uncomfortable silence after she almost lost her sandal for the third time. "Could Fuji-san, that is... Kimono makes it hard to walk..."

"Am I going too fast?" Fujitsima's eyebrows wrinkled anxiously and he flushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize." He slowed down and stopped pulling her along. "Is Tooru-kun having fun tonight? I'm sorry if we made you feel left out earlier. I hope Miki wasn't too mean to you."

"Miki-san wasn't mean at all." Tooru hastened to reassure him. Is that why he'd been unhappy they were talking? Because he thought that Miki might be mean to her? "I think Miki-san likes Akane-san very much."

"Yeah, but he causes trouble all the time." Fujitsima complained. "He's always getting into fights and he skips school a lot."

Tooru thought he sounded a lot like Kyou. "But he seems like a good person, and Akane-san likes Miki-san. Mother used to get in fights before she met Father."

"But she stopped then, didn't she?" Fujitsima said, looking upset. "It wasn't like she kept fighting."

"Not when she didn't have to." She agreed, thinking of the night her mother and Uo-chan came home bruised and smiling.

"Miki should stop fighting." Fujitsima said stubbornly. "Or Akane should dump him."

Tooru stayed silent, thinking that sounded a little harsh. It wasn't as if people could change overnight. And sometimes it was other people that made it hard to change...If everyone expected you to be fighting all the time it was hard not to.

Fujitsima glanced at her. "I'm sorry. We're supposed to be on a date." He squeezed her hand. "We should be talking about fun stuff."

"Fuji-san worries about his friends." Tooru said, accepting his apology. "Fuji-san has nice friends."

"I know Akira likes to tease, and Hisae-chan does too. Akane can be a little rude sometimes, but they've been my best friends forever." Fujitsima grinned. "Like you and your friends."

"Miki-san said he thought it was nice that Akane-san had old friends." Tooru said. "I think he wants to be friends too."

Fujitsima looked down, "Let's just not talk about that, okay?" He looked up. "Look, there is the shrine. Look at all the lights."

It had gone from dusk to dark while they'd walked. The shrine was up a tall flight of stairs that Tooru dreaded having to walk up in her kimono. But there were strings and strings of lanterns and it twinkled and glowed invitingly and promised she'd have fun once she reached the top. Even though she promised herself that she wouldn't think of Yuki or Kyou she found herself suddenly wishing they were here to share in the fun. It must be, she thought, because Fujitsima had been talking about friends.

"Let's go." Fujitsima grinned. "I'll help you up the steps. We took a while, but I think we'll have a little more time alone before the others catch up. I'll win Tooru-kun a prize!"

"Fuji-san doesn't have to do that!" Tooru protested as they started up the steps.

"Does Tooru-kun like teddy bears?" Fujitsima grinned holding both hands and helping her climb the steps. "Or maybe we can try to catch some goldfish."

"I'm terrible at catching goldfish." Tooru warned. "I never caught one. Mother was weak at that too." It was the only thing Tooru remembered her mother doing badly. They'd spent hours at one festival trying to catch a goldfish. The owner had finally given them one to make them go away. Her mother had thanked the man and then turned and given it away to a child once they'd left the booth. Neither of them had wanted one they didn't earn.

"I'll catch you a goldfish then." Fujitsima promised. "What will you name it?"

"Mmm..." Tooru said concentrating on not stepping on her hem as they reached the top of the steps. "Every fish has a different name... so it will depend on the fish."

Fujitsima laughed and Tooru smiled, letting him take her hand and lead her into the festival. It was crowded with people of all ages, and there were lots of couples. They went in search of a goldfish booth, but happily let themselves be distracted by other vendors hawking their games and wares. Tooru was a little uncomfortable that Fujitsima insisted on paying for everything. She settled for trying to not look too interested in anything so he wouldn't feel obligated to offer it to her. He'd already insisted on buying some cotton candy for her when she'd watched the vendor wrap it around the little cone handles for too long.

At least he'd let go of her hand so she could hold it. She nibbled at it, thinking how Kyou would make a face at anyone enjoying something so sweet. _I'm not supposed to be thinking about Kyou-kun_, she berated herself. She looked at Fujitsima and forced a smile. Apples are Apples. She should enjoy this festival with the person she was with. "Would Fuji-san like some?" She said offering the cotton candy to him.

He went red. "No, thank you!"

She looked at him curiously, wondering what had embarrassed him so. The more she looked at him the redder he got. She looked away, up at the pretty lights.

"I don't think I said so before..." Fujitsima said, closer then she remembered. "But you look really pretty tonight..."

"T-thank you." Tooru stuttered, feeling her own cheeks warm. "Ayame-san's kimono is very beautiful, I'm lucky to be able to wear it." She wanted to step away from him; she felt closed in and trapped. She wished his friends hadn't left them alone.

"It's not the kimono that makes Tooru-kun pretty." Fujitsima muttered. "You don't need Ayame-san to make you look pretty. I bet you looked fine in Karin-chan's kimono."

"Karin?" Tooru repeated, startled by his tone. He sounded almost hurt.

"Hisae's little sister." He said shortly.

"Oh." Tooru said awkwardly, "Um...So Hisae has a little sister just like Fuji-san."

"Except her sister is bigger than her. They're only a year apart, my sister's four years younger." He brightened, "Hey look! Goldfish!"

He pulled her over, his eagerness making him forget how hard it was for her to move quickly.

"Come try your luck!" The scruffy man behind the booth called, "Three tries for a hundred yen!" He grinned at Fujitsima. "Win your pretty girlie a fish!"

"Do you want to try first?" Fujitsima asked her, reaching in his pocket for money. "Maybe your luck has changed."

Tooru looked at the trough of swimming fish and felt the same excitement she had as a child. "Yes, please!"

Grinning at her enthusiasm, Fujitsima handed over the coin and the man handed her three paper nets and a bowl. She crouched by the trough and tried to pick out a slow moving fish. "There!" She cried and swept her net into the water trying to scoop up a fat little fish that was swimming lazily by the side. The net came up ripped and all she succeeded in doing was scattering all fish away from where she'd splashed. "Ooo." She frowned. "My motto is never give up!" She said firmly as she discarded one net and took up another. "Two more tries."

"You can do it, Tooru-kun!" Fujitsima cheered.

"Ha!" She cried and tried for another fish, with nearly identical results. Only this time she splashed the owner of the booth. "I'm so sorry!" She apologized, turning pink.

"Ain't the first time it's happened, pretty missy." The man laughed. "Probably won't be the last time tonight! Now you give it your last go, and give it a good one. Don't mind about me."

Tooru nodded and frowned determinedly at the fish. She pushed up her sleeves and stared into the water. She pushed back her sleeves and picked out a fish, following it with her eyes. She tried to predict where it would swim to next, and when it came close to her side of the trough, she struck.

Only the quick reflexes of Fujitsima and the owner kept her from falling in completely. As it was her arm went into the water up to her elbow. Luckily she had her kimono sleeve pulled up or it would have gotten soaking wet instead of just splashed. The owner had a hand against her shoulder to keep her from falling forward any more. Fujitsima had grabbed her waist. He stood, shifting his hands to her armpits. Tooru let Fujitsima lift her up looking at her dripping arm in dismay. She'd thrust her hand in with so much force that the head of the net had snapped off.

"Awww..." she said and looked over her shoulder at Fujitsima. "It looks like my luck hasn't changed at all."

He laughed. Tooru accepted a towel from the stand owner and toweled off her arm. Fujitsima handed her cotton candy back to her and rolled up his own sleeve. "We'll have to try my luck then." He handed the owner another hundred yen and took his nets.

"Good luck!" Cheered Tooru. He flushed but looked seriously at the trough. It was only his second try when he managed to scoop up a goldfish into his bowl.

"Yay!" Tooru clapped. "Fuji-san is great!"

"Yay, Fuji-san!" Hisae laughed emerging with Akira out of the crowd. "It looks like you're still good at the goldfish scoop."

Akira grinned smugly at them. "Everybody's got to be good at something, I guess."

"I still have another try." Fujitsima said ignoring them. "Does Tooru-kun want me to catch a friend for your fish?"

"Pretty confident." Miki said, coming up from the opposite direction. He and Akane had obviously been playing games already; she had a water yo-yo dangling off one finger and a teddy bear in the crook of her arm. He looked at Tooru. "You aren't going to try?"

"Fuji-san already bought me three tries." Tooru smiled.

"No luck?" He asked.

She flushed. "I almost fell in."

Miki laughed and Akane smiled at Tooru happily.

Fujitsima tried for another fish, but his luck had run out. The scruffy man tied the one he caught up in a plastic bag and handed it to Tooru. "There you go. Do you want to buy a bowl for him? I got gravel and decorations too..." he gestured to small rack of ratty looking miniature castles and sea chests. "Don't forget food."

Tooru reached into her kimono sleeve. "Ah, food, I should get that..."

"I'll get it!" Fujitsima said indignantly, digging for his money. "Do you want a bowl too?"

"No, thank you," Tooru said quickly. "I have something at home I can use." She'd use a bowl from the kitchen until she could buy one herself.

"Just in case, I'll buy you one." Fujitsima said stubbornly. The vendor grinned and took his money.

She gave a weak smile as she accepted it. She'd been happy to get the fish... but now she felt guilty for making Fujitsima spend extra money. She resolved that she wouldn't show interest in any other games.

"So what do you want to play next?" Akane asked looking around. "I want to win more prizes."

"Showoff," muttered Miki.

"Don't pout just because you suck." Akane teased.

"You won those yourself?" Fujitsima asked. "You always were the best at this kind of thing."

"And Akira is the worst. He hasn't won me anything." Hisae pouted dramatically and batted her lashes at Akira.

"I don't see you winning any prizes either." He snorted.

"Oneechan?"

Tooru turned around and smiled. "Kisa-chan!"

Kisa brightened and smiled. She and Hiro were dressed in kimono and yukata. Kisa held a stuffed tiger and Hiro had a balloon yo-yo and a scowl on his face.

"What're you doing here?" Hiro had a tight hold on Kisa's hand. "No one told us you'd be here."

"Ah," Tooru smiled. "It was decided last minute, we came from viewing cherry blossoms." She smiled and crouched down to Kisa's height, "Has Kisa-chan been yet?"

Kisa shook her head no, smiling. She shrank back a little when Fujitsima came up behind Tooru. Tooru looked up at him and stood quickly. "Oh, I'm being rude! Fujitsima-san, this is Souma Kisa-chan and Souma Hiro-kun." She looked at the others over Fujitsima's shoulder. "They are Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun's cousins."

"More of them?" Fujitsima said and sighed. "It's nice to meet you."

"This is Fujitsima Maseo-kun," Tooru said, "He's a classmate of mine, and his friends Akane-san, Miki-san, Hisae-chan and Akira-kun."

"I suppose if you're here," Hiro said, ignoring Fujitsima and the others, "you at least could buy us cotton candy."

"Ah, of course." Tooru said reaching for her wallet. "Just a moment..."

"Hiro-chan!" Kisa said wide-eyed and blushing.

"Wait a minute!" Fujitsima protested. "Why should she buy you cotton candy?"

Hiro glared at him. "I don't see how it's any of your business if she does."

"It's okay." Tooru said quickly. "Last time, Hiro-san treated Kisa-chan and I to crepes."

"That's still no excuse to talk to you that way." Fujitsima protested.

"I don't see how a classmate of this person," Hiro jerked a thumb at Tooru, "has any right to say how I should talk to her. That's like someone from the crowd just butting in. That's pretty rude, if you ask me."

"We're on a date!" Fujitsima protested. "Of course I should say something if you're rude to her."

"A date?" Kisa repeated. "Oneechan is on a date?"

"Kisa-chan is too, isn't she?" Tooru said quickly. "Is she having a good time?"

"Yes!" Kisa's smile lit up. "Hiro-chan..." she held up the stuffed tiger.

"Hiro-san won you that?" Tooru pet the tiger's head. "It's so cute. Good job, Hiro-san." She showed Kisa her goldfish. "Fuji-san won a goldfish."

"Cute!" Kisa said peering at the fish swimming the bag. She smiled at Fujitsima.

"Whatever." Hiro sniffed. "It'll probably die in a week."

"What a brat." Miki said to Akane.

Tooru pretended she didn't hear that. "I'll go get that cotton candy. Fuji-san bought me some earlier, it was very good," she said standing.

"Oneechan looks pretty." Kisa said. "Kimono...?"

"Ayame-san made it." Tooru nodded. "And Kisa-chan's?"

"Mother..." Kisa fingered the cloth of her kimono, decorated with a cute childish print of large overlapping circles in green and gold.

"It's very cute!" Hisae said, stepping forward. "And wow, your hair is so pretty...I'm Hisae-chan."

Akane hunkered down, "And look at her eyes Hisae, they're the same color as those contacts I wanted to get. Are they natural?" Kisa nodded shyly. "Lucky!"

"Are we going to get cotton candy or what?" Hiro grumped.

"Yes, let's go." Tooru looked at Kisa, "Will you hold my goldfish?"

"Yes!" She said eagerly, reaching for the bag and bowl.

Tooru reached into her sleeve and found her money, and gave a quick smile to Fujitsima. "We'll be right back." She and Hiro walked towards the cotton candy booth. Hiro glanced back looking at Kisa nervously. Hisae and Akane were still coo-ing over her and she was watching the fish swim lazily in the bag.

"Kisa-chan looks like she's having fun." Tooru commented.

Hiro snorted, "Of course. She's with me."

"Do Kisa-chan and Hiro-chan want to go around the festival with Fuji-san and the others?" Tooru asked as they reached the booth. "I saved a little money, it would be fun to play some games. Two, please."

"Do you really dislike that guy so much?" Hiro asked bluntly.

"What?" Tooru said startled into looking at him directly.

"You're on a date aren't you?" Hiro asked crossing his arms. "You don't ask other people along unless you want to avoid the person you're with. You can't like him very much if you're doing that."

"No, no..." Tooru protested. "I like Fuji-san very much... it's just that..." The vendor handing her the candy interrupted her.

"It's just that what?" Hiro asked taking one from her. "It's easy, you either like the guy or you don't. If you don't you should just tell him. False kindness is just cruel in that situation."

"False kindness...?" Tooru asked starting back towards the others.

"You think you're being nice," Hiro said, bouncing his water yo-yo, "and are keeping them from being hurt by not saying something you know will be painful. But then you just make it worse by dragging it out."

"But what if you don't know?" Tooru asked.

"How can you not know?" Hiro snorted. "It's like if you like this food or that food, some do you some you don't. Some you like more than others. If you like a person, you know. If you don't know, you can't really like them. How stupid are you that you don't know that?"

"I've never been very smart..." Tooru agreed, knocking her head with her knuckles, her heart beating rapidly. It was like her blood was reacting to what he was saying, rushing in her ears and making it hard to focus.

"You're the stupidest person I know." Hiro agreed.

"Hiro-chan!" Kisa said, overhearing the last comment.

"You should apologize. Tooru-kun was nice and bought you cotton candy and you call her names?" Fujitsima crossed his arms. "That's rude."

"It's not rude if it's true." Hiro said reasonably. "Or should I lie? But if I lie, won't that mean I'll grow up to be an untrustworthy adult? Are you going to take responsibly for that in the future?"

"What is it with you Soumas? Why are you all so twisted?" Fujitsima burst. "First Momiji-kun, Hatsuharu-kun, Hatori-san, and that Ayame-san... and even Souma-kun, Kyou-kun and Shigure-san. And you're everywhere! We go to the movies, and two of you show up, at school Souma and Kyou are always there, go on an errand before the date, and there's another one... and now you!"

"Hey, If I'd known she'd be here I wouldn't have brought Kisa," Hiro said. "Don't blame me for your poor planning."

"Fujitsima, you're getting schooled by, like, an eight year old." Miki laughed.

"I'm eleven!" Hiro said angrily. "What'd you do bleach your brain along with that hair?"

Akira snickered and Hisae covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Laugh it up, Tweedle-dum and Dumber!" Hiro said out of the corner of his mouth. "And maybe no one will notice that you two are about as sharp as bowling balls."

"Hey!" Hisae started, putting her hands on her hips.

"Is for horses." Hiro finished. "Too dumb to use proper language?"

"Hiro-san," Tooru said, trailed by Kisa, "isn't acting very adult. I don't think the impression he's making is very good."

"Hiro-chan should apologize." Kisa said somberly.

Hiro's back stiffened. "I'm sorry they're all such idiots," he said and turned away sticking his face into his cotton candy.

"Hiro-chan." Kisa repeated.

"Are Kisa-chan and Hiro-chan here alone?" Tooru asked trying to elevate the strained mood. "Did Momiji-san or Hatsuharu-san come with you?"

"Are you dense?" Hiro said scornfully. "Kisa-chan and I are on a date. Why would I bring anyone else on a date?"

Kisa shook her head, "Hiro-chan!"

"C'mon," Hiro said grabbing her hand. "Let's go. She's on a date too, she doesn't want us around."

"I like having Kisa-chan and Hiro-chan around." Tooru said to their backs. "They haven't visited in a while and I've missed them."

He sighed. "I'm sorry for being rude. Kisa and I will come over for dinner some night next week." He looked at Kisa. "Happy?"

"Yes, thank you." Kisa said. "Oneechan...goodbye," she said over her shoulder as Hiro pulled her away.

"She's a cutie but that other kid is such a brat!" Akane said as they disappeared into the crowd. "What a buzzkill."

"Hiro-san gets jealous," Tooru said feeling she needed to explain. "He's just awkward with people. He's actually much better," She mused. "Hiro-san didn't kick me this time."

"You're too forgiving Tooru-kun." Fujitsima said, "You shouldn't let him, or anyone else, talk to you that way."

"Heavy mood." Akira said, slumping against Hisae. "No fun, no fun..."

"You're going to knock me over!" Hisae protested, staggering under his weight.

"I need a fun injection, or I can't go on." Akira insisted, leaning against her even more.

"Awww... poor baby." Hisae said like she was talking to a small child. "Do you wanna go to play darts?"

"Yes..." Akira whined, but straightened so she wasn't holding him up any more.

Still speaking in a baby-talk voice Hisae grinned, "Okay, let's go play darts...I'll win you a prize."

"That's supposed to be my line." Akira protested. "And I will, just you watch."

"Bet that I beat both of your scores!" Akane said and pulled Miki ahead of them. "C'mon Tooru-kun, Maseo, let's play."

"Coming." Fujitsima said, still sounding upset. "Tooru-kun?" He held out his hand to her.

"Yes," She said, taking his hand and trying to smile. Her mind was whirling, it was like tuning into a radio signal... static... static...almost there, music. All the questions she'd asked, the answers were all starting to make sense. She could almost hear the music.

It's like being hungry; you want more of that person. You want them to be happy and are sad when they're sad. You feel it before you know it. It's like if you like this food or that food, some do you some you don't. Some you like more than others. Apples are apples and pears are pears... Seeds need a certain type of soil to grow.

She couldn't be Fujitsima's girlfriend. Perhaps she was a desert garden and he was a willow tree, or he was a cactus and she was a riverbank. They just weren't right. When she looked at how she felt for him, on it's own, she felt... pressure, confusion, sympathy, and yes, it was a happy feeling to be cared for and pursued, but it wasn't love.

She could have been friends with him, a good friend. But she didn't miss him when he wasn't there, and she didn't want to watch him or feel different when he held her hand. And it wasn't that she did feel those things with other people... what she'd said to Ayame was true. Fujitsima was a fine, wonderful person and he shouldn't be compared to Yuki or Kyou. What she felt for Yuki was different then what she felt for Kyou and what she  
felt for them was different then what she felt for Fujitsima. All three were her friends, but only one was asking to be more.

She really didn't want to hurt him. It would have been easier if she didn't like him at all, or if she didn't feel some connection. But Fujitsima was a sweet, kind person, and this would hurt him a lot.

I_t's impossible to talk yourself into loving someone you don't._

That's what she'd been trying to do... because she didn't want to hurt him. False kindness, just like Hiro had said, because now it would hurt worse. He'd defended her, stood up for her, worried about her.

She watched Fujitsima playing some sort of rolling dice game with the others. He'd tried to make a place for her among his friends, something she hadn't been able to do for him. Perhaps, if she'd gotten to know him before or if he wasn't so eager to move so fast... but it was useless to speculate.

Fujitsima glanced back at her, grinning. Her face must've shown something of what she was thinking and his smile slipped. He looked confused. Tooru tried to give him a smile, but it felt false and uncomfortable. She was pretty sure that the others didn't notice that she got quieter and more reserved as the night progressed, but he noticed. She was already hurting him.

"Yo!" Miki said, clapping his hand on Fujitsima's shoulder about an hour later. "We're gonna jet." Akane stood behind him hugging a large stuffed cow Miki had won her.

"But it's early!" Hisae protested, two new plush dolls in her arms. "You can't go home yet!"

"Who said we're going home?" Akane winked. "I want to show Miki that park we used to play at..."

Hisae grinned. "Oh, _that_ park," she said referencing some inside joke between them. Akane just waved as they left arm in arm.

"I'm hungry." Akira said suddenly, he gripped Hisae around the waist. "Let's go get something to eat."

"But we had a huge dinner just a couple of hours ago!" Hisae complained. "And you've been eating non-stop since we go here.

"Yeah... but I'm still hungry." Akira said reasonably, "I want ice cream."

"Ice cream?" Hisae her protests disappearing. "I could go for ice cream. You guys?"

Fujitsima looked at Tooru. "Um... for us I think it's a little late. Tooru-kun lives pretty far from here, so I think maybe we should start walking home." He kept his tone light, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.

Akira and Hisae were too involved in teasing each other to notice. "Okay, more ice cream for me." Hisae giggled. "We'll see you guys later."

"Later." Fujitsima repeated, waving goodbye to them.

He turned back to Tooru. "You didn't want ice cream, right? I didn't even ask. I'm sorry."

Tooru shook her head. "Don't be."

He took her hand. "I'll walk you home."

They walked in silence, Tooru carrying her fish and bowl in the crook of an arm. She looked up at the sky. It was fully dark now, and getting later then she usually stayed out when she wasn't working. She didn't know how to tell him but she knew it had to happen tonight.

"Um..." Fujitsima said, breaking into her thoughts. They were about halfway to Shigure's house. "Is something wrong?"

Tooru looked down at their joined hands. "I was thinking about what Fujitsima-san asked me."

Fujitsima stopped. "Fujitsima-san..." He repeated and Tooru could see that he was starting to understand. He took a deep breath. "You're going to say no, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry." Tooru said. "I do like Fujitsima-san, and I really liked getting his letters and spending time with him."

"But you don't want to be my girlfriend." He said flatly. "Is it because of Souma-kun, or Kyou-kun?"

"No." Tooru shook her head, still surprised that people thought that way about them and her.

"Then why..." He looked away from her, obviously upset. "I really like you. I know you don't feel comfortable around me the way you do around them."

Tooru thought a moment before answering honestly. "That's true." He looked at her in surprise. "But that's because I know them so well... Fujitsima-san isn't as comfortable around me as he is around Hisae-chan and Akane-san."

Fujitsima flushed. "But that's different. And you could learn to be comfortable, _we_ could learn to be comfortable together."

Tooru shook her head. "I would like to be friends with Fujitsima-san... but I'm not ready to be more." She looked down, blushing. "All this... was very hard for me...I don't want to hurt Fujitsima-san." She looked up at him. "But I don't think I'm ready to be anyone's girlfriend. I'm not very bright-"

"You shouldn't say that." Fujitsima interrupted. "You aren't dumb!"

Tooru blushed brighter. "Thank you." She said, "No one has ever told me that before. But," she looked away again. "In this I think I'm not smart at all. A smart girl would be so happy that a person like Fujitsima-san was interested in her." She looked back at him. "But it just makes me feel nervous, uncomfortable and..." She looked down at his hand wrapped around hers, "scared. It's not Fujitsima's fault, he's only been kind and gentle with me. I'm just not ready."

His hand squeezed uncomfortably around hers and then he dropped her hand. He turned away from her and crossed his arms. She waited patiently, her heart aching.

"I don't think I can be friends." He said, and his voice was tight. "So after tonight, please don't be hurt if I don't talk to you anymore."

Tooru looked at hands, now wrapped tightly around her goldfish bowl. "I understand." It hurt to hear that, like she'd been struck.

"You know," He said finally, "Some people would say you are already my girlfriend because we dated and we spent so much time together. Coming to a couple's only date would count too..."

Tooru blinked at him.

He turned back around to face her. "And even if Tooru-kun isn't going to be my girlfriend anymore, I would like to say she was my first girlfriend."

"And my first boyfriend was Fuji-san." Tooru agreed. He was obviously hurting, and she wished she could do more to ease his pain. "I really did feel like a princess tonight, and Fujitsima-san was a very good prince."

"Um..." Fujitsima said, his voice rough. "I should get you home." He started walking down the street.

"Fujitsima-san doesn't have to..." Tooru said, "We're almost there. I can get home from here." He didn't look at her but stopped at the corner. She looked down at the fishbowl and her fish swimming lazily around its bag. "I...I don't think I should keep this."

He looked at the fishbowl she held out to him and laughed, bittersweet and pained. "You can't give that back. Please keep it, and at least think of me," he said. He cleared his throat. "Tooru-kun never said what she was going to name it." He looked carefully above her head instead of at her, awkward and pained.

Tooru looked at the fish. "I think... I'll call him Prince." She walked up to Fujitsima, taking his hand for once. "To remind myself of the one who gave him to me." He looked at her and tears pricked behind her eyes at causing the hurt she saw there. She squeezed his hand. "Goodbye, Fujitsima-san."

"Goodbye, Honda-san." His voice sounded wooden. "I'm sorry I can't see you to your door." He turned around.

Tooru spoke to his back. "That's okay. I'm nearly home." She turned away and started home. She looked back when she reached the next corner where she'd turn for home. Fujitsima was still standing at the corner, facing the other way. She turned away and kept going.

She looked up at the sky. She had tears coursing down her face. She didn't think it would hurt so much to say goodbye to him. She wiped them away, reminding herself it was for the best. "I couldn't keep it alive." She said, holding up the fish. "I don't know what kind of plant Fujitsima is, I'm sure it's a wonderful plant and someday it will bloom huge and strong in someone's heart. But I couldn't keep it alive. I'm not the right soil."

The fish stared at her as if to say, "You're weird."

"I think there is something growing though." She told it. "I can feel the roots." She looked at the house coming into view. "I'm not sure what it is yet... but something is growing. I think it will sprout soon."

"Oi!"

She turned to see Kyou coming down from a side street. He glanced around her suspiciously. "Why are you alone?"

"I told Fujitsima-san that I couldn't be his girlfriend." Tooru said and suddenly she was sobbing.

"Hey, hey..." He said stepping forward.

"Honda-san!"

She looked up to see Yuki running up the path from the house. He had his trowel and work gloves in hand, he must've been coming back from his secret base.

"Baka Neko, what did you do?" He said angrily as he stepped close to her and taking her fish from her with barely a glance.

"Nothing!" Kyou said, sounding panicked. "She just started crying! Stop crying!" He said to her.

"I...it really hurt!" She said, "I told him that I couldn't be his girlfriend." She explained to Yuki. "And I think I really hurt him... and it hurts." She buried her face in her hands and sobbed harder.

"Of course it does, fool." Kyou said, gentler, running his hand through her hair to push it back over her shoulder. He took one of her hands. "You're too soft."

"I'm sure he knows Honda-san didn't mean to hurt him." Yuki said, taking her other hand in his and shifting her fishbowl to his hip. He rubbed the back of her hand soothingly with his thumb. "She doesn't have it in her to be cruel."

"Lets go inside." Kyou said tugging her towards the house. "What are you wearing?"

"Ayame-san made it for me." Tooru sniffled, looking between them.

"My brother," Yuki's mouth twisted. "I don't like to compliment him, but it does suit Honda-san."

"Of course it does." Kyou said, not looking at him. "But that's just because she looks good in everything."

Tooru blushed, sniffling. She glanced up at Kyou, catching him looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She felt a tingle up her arm, loosening her shoulders, and gave him a watery smile. She looked over at Yuki and caught him staring at her profile. The soft buttery feeling uncurled in her stomach when he blushed at her glance.

Something was definitely sprouting. Two hardy plants.

:0:0:

_Author's Note: Wow! It's done...I hope people like it, I'm sorry if you are disappointed after all this time. It ended up being one super long chapter and I had to drop some things I wanted to have in. Like the "Loves Battle" book was originally going to be a running gag, but I couldn't get the scenes I pictured with it to fit in properly so I dropped it. Next I'm going to do a chapter of Discoveries (already mostly written) and then Spotted._


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